The Princess who changed Fate
by JeanBlaze
Summary: Ayame lived a peaceful life in Clow with her siblings Touya and Sakura. But when Yukito pulls out a new prophecy about her, her life is thrown into turmoil as she jumps from world to world to gather her sister's memories with Syaoran and two others... But is that all? Will the mysteries of her past be answered? Will she be able to thwart Fei Wong Reed's revised plans?
1. Chapter 1 - The Beginning

**So, this is my first attempt at a fan fiction, do pardon me if it's bad! I still have a lot to learn. Do review, it helps a lot. Enjoy.**

**Just a note – I do not own TRC or any of the characters. Ayame, on the other hand, is my brainchild.**

**XXX**

The wind blows around the castle, as it does every evening in Clow Country. Ayame was at her work desk, checking and re-checking the plans for the new regime for the palace guard and the army. With new obstacle courses, training with foreign weapons, drills and mock missions to improve teamwork….. She lets out a satisfied sigh as she realizes that she has covered every base possible. Setting down the plans, her eyes fall on the organ placed in the corner of her spacious chamber. It was not very grand, but nevertheless a beautiful instrument – the wood had been tinted just so slightly with lavender before the craftsmen had fashioned it into the instrument it was now. As she walked toward it, she was thinking of the first time she saw the delicate instrument, how her mother, the late Queen Nadeshiko, had taught her to play the instrument along with her twin brother, Touya.

As she played a low, long note, a small, nostalgic smile plays her face. She recalled how Touya would always complain when their mother called them for lessons, saying that all this was girl stuff, but all the while secretly enjoying every part of the lesson. They both were just kids with scabby knees, who looked up to their mother in awe as she played the most beautiful melodies they had ever heard, her face looking ever so peaceful and her jade-green eyes full of laughter and happiness. Her mother, so beautiful and so graceful, so kind and so gentle…. 'I'm nothing like mother,' she thinks, 'how can people even say that I look exactly like her, I don't even come close!'

It's true that Ayame had inherited almost all of her best features. As she looks into the mirror mounted right in front of the organ, she sees the few similarities – she had the same tall, graceful frame, the same long, night-black hair flowing down her back, the same milky white complexion that is just rare in the heat of the desert in Clow. At first glance, it was very easy to mistake Ayame for the late queen, but all Ayame focuses on are the differences between her and her mother – Ayame had dark lilac eyes, which were sharp and calculating, the side-effects of being the commander general for the Clow Country army. She was dressed in a long, purple top which went just up to her knees, buttoned down the front just till her stomach showed a little,and purple harem pants with a jeweled belt, to state her royalty. But the biggest difference was the pair of bronze-gold scimitars, hanging from her belt – swords opposed to the graceful moon staff that her mother carried as the priestess of the kingdom of Clow. Her mother was the protector of the realm and valued every life, even if it endangered her, while she wouldn't hesitate to cut down a person without blinking her eye if she sensed danger. How can people compare her to her kind, gentle mother? In her eyes, she was an ugly shadow of the woman who was loved and cherished by everyone in Clow.

Ayame was jolted out of her musings as she heard the palace guards yelling and a loud heaving and creak which she recognized as the palace doors being pulled open. "Touya and his entourage didn't leave the palace today… Nor did Yukito with his guards… Then who is entering the palace at this hour? We don't get any visitors at this time." she mutters to herself as she walked toward the window, pulling the curtains apart to see who was entering the palace. She sees a group of six men, all with dusty clothes, holding what seemed like big rolls of paper. "The archaeologists working at the ruins!" she gasps. The archaeologists only come up to the palace when they have any new news to give about the ruins buried deep within the desert. The entire bunch seems very happy and satisfied, "They must have found something!"

A sly smile works up her face when she thinks of what the return of the archaeologists also meant – it meant _he_ was back and _she _would definitely sneak out of the palace without Touya's knowledge to meet him. Just as soon the thought crosses her mind; Ayame notices a small female figure wearing a white cloak with a pink border quietly tip-toeing around the palace guards who were busy rewinding the mechanism to close the gate. "You never even spare a second, do you Sakura?" she chuckles as she sees her younger sister's petite form disappear among the crowd outside the palace gates. "Young love!" she sighs, highly amused.

**XXX**

'I wonder if Sakura is back yet…' Ayame ponders while walking in corridor towards the throne room. It was almost supper time and she had heard the castle bells ring just a while ago. 'I'm sure Touya had them rung the moment he noticed Sakura was gone!' she chuckles. As she neared the throne room, she could hear her siblings having a shouting match. "I'm not selfish like you!" she heard Touya, the comment obviously targeted at Sakura. "He was eavesdropping Yukito-san!" she heard Sakura wail. "Now, now Your Grace, you shouldn't mess around with you little sister like that!" Ayame announces as she enters the throne room. "Onae-chan!" Sakura chirps, running towards Ayame. "You're back I see," Ayame replies, embracing her little sister. "So how is our budding archeologist?" "He's absolutely fine!" Sakura replies. Ayame sees the happiness shining in her eyes as she spoke about Syaoran. "Ayame! You knew she went to see that brat?" Touya yells, surprised, "Why didn't you tell me?" "You would have stopped her Touya," Ayame states in a matter-of-fact voice. "As you should have done!" Touya sulks looking the other way. "Onae-chan is not mean like Onii-chan." Sakura replies, sticking her tongue out at Touya.

Ayame, sensing that this is a never ending argument, turns to Yukito, who was observing the sibling fight, amused. "How much has it progressed?" she asked him, trying to change the topic. "The excavation had progressed a great deal." Yukito says; unraveling the sheets of paper which Ayame recognized as the sheets the archeologists had been carrying into the castle this evening. "Does that mean it's almost finished?" Sakura hops, excited. "Nah," Touya answer's her question, looking out towards the wing shaped ruins out in the desert, "The ruin is only just off the ground." "WHAT!" Sakura exclaims, surprised. "I see that they have found an underground passage," Ayame comments', looking at the excavation plans Yukito was holding. "I don't know how far it goes, but I told them to keep digging." Touya says, thoughtfully. Then turning back to look at Sakura, he folds his hands and leers at her, "Meaning the excavation will keep going, and that brat will be so-so-so-so busy!" Sakura clenches her hands into fists, as though it was taking all of her energy not to punch her brother in the face. "It's ok!" she yells angrily, "Syaoran, like his father, enjoys excavating. When he finds out that he has new work, he'll be thrilled!" with this she storms out of the throne room.

"You shouldn't make Sakura sad by having such kind of attitude Your Grace." Yukito says, looking at Sakura's retreating form, "Maybe you should talk to the princess later Your Highness; she seemed very upset." He tells Ayame. "How many times have we told you to keep the titles out when it's just us Yuki?" Ayame snaps at him. "Even the king, the princess and the priest were friends before all this remember?" Touya adds, giving Yukito a small smile. "Yes… ah… yeah…" Yukito smiles back at Touya. "Sorry Ayame," he says, looking at Ayame. "Atleast remember this next time Yuki; you, me and Touya have been together since we were kids!" It's true; Ayame and Touya had known the fair, grey-eyed, silver-blonde boy since they were just kids. The three were the best of friends! Yukito right now was the high priest of Clow Kingdom and also the King's advisor along with Ayame. 'He has the same tenderness in his eyes as mother,' Ayame thinks to herself.

"That brat drives me crazy!" Touya lets out an exasperated sigh. "That's just because your jealous Sakura prefers to be with him than you." Ayame teases him. Touya scowls while Yukito continues, "You love your sister so much." "Well my sisters are the only family I have in this country," Touya says, earning a wink from Ayame. Then his dark, navy blue eyes get serious; his jet black hair falling on his forehead as he broods, "But he is the one for Sakura, right?" he whispers. "Yes, Syaoran is the only one who can save her." Yukito replies gravely. "You're predictions have not been wrong, have they Yuki?" Ayame asks, knowing the answer anyway. "His predictions are never wrong, but I'm still mad!" Touya sulked.

Yukito bows down his head and Ayame saw pain lining his delicate features. "I saw that a difficult situation is waiting for the two of them, a very surprising trouble," he says, with a distant look in his eye, as though remembering his visions. "The princess has many strange powers; I don't know what kind, but it… It is a power that will change the world. That power will bring troubles and disturbances." "Isn't there anything we can do to avoid it?" Touya asked, desperation lining every syllable. "I'm afraid not Touya, immense power has its consequences…" Ayame whispers, more to herself rather than a reply to Touya. She looks at the silver bracelet in her left hand, thinking about when her father, Clow Reed, gave it to her after… she shudders, she doesn't want to think about now… or ever! She will never let anything happen to Sakura, ever, even if her life depended on it!

Just as this thought crosses her mind, Yukito's eyes glaze over and he speaks, as though in a trance, "There's still a away, to send those two destined by fate aid to save the fabric of logic across the dimensions." "Yuki, are you…?" Touya starts but Ayame cuts him short, "Shush Touya, not now." Yukito continues, oblivious to the dialogue between his two best friends, "A magical seal will be broken, lost memories will be restored and powers will be revived. This will, in turn, rewrite the future of space and time once more." Then he turns towards Ayame, "It's going to begin soon," he told her, his eyes still glazed over and distant, but nevertheless addressing her, "Be prepared!" With this, Yukito faints. Touya expertly catches him before he hits the ground. After making sure that the priest is alright, he turns to his twin for answers, "What the hell was that?" "A prophecy" Ayame says in a quiet voice, 'About me' she tells herself. As she looks at Yukito sleeping in Touya's arms, she wonders if her conviction had changed the future.

**XXX**

The next day Ayame was off to the ruins with Touya, Sakura and Yukito for an inspection. "We must keep a close eye on what these archaeologists are up to… Can't trust a few 'particular' ones in that lot." Touya sneered at Sakura, the comment clearly pointing at Syaoran. This sent both Sakura and Touya into a shouting match which lasted the entire length of the travel, much to Yukito and Ayame's dismay.

They reached the ruins around mid-day. But that hadn't stopped Ayame's siblings from fighting. "Stop acting like spoilt children and behave now, both of you!" Ayame said, stepping in between her siblings. "Touya, I'm sure you don't want to lose face in front of your subjects by acting like a bully!" "I'm not bullying…." Touya began to protest but Yukito cut him short, "Yes you were! Now come on, we have work that needs attention Your Grace." As Yukito pulled a disgruntled Touya towards the camp, Ayame turned to Sakura, "He's your elder brother, don't yell at him so much." "You get to yell at him so much! Why not me?" Sakura puffed her face. "That's because I'm older than him, even if it's just by two minutes." Ayame chuckled, pulling Sakura's cheeks. They both giggled. "Now young lady, don't you have to give lunch to a certain hard-working archaeologist?" "Oh yes!" Sakura exclaimed, holding up the lunch basket. Ayame recalled how earlier that day Sakura had taken extreme care to fill the basket with everything Syaoran liked. 'These two are so adorable!' she thought to herself. "Well, what are you waiting for? Off you go!" "But then, what about Touya?" Sakura asked. "Don't worry about him, I'll keep him busy for as long as you want. You just go and have some fun okay?" Ayame replied, ruffling her sister's hair. "You're the best Onae-chan!" saying this, Sakura hopped away, looking for Syaoran.

As Sakura skipped away, Ayame went over to where Touya was talking to the head archaeologist of the excavation. "How much more of it is still left?" Touya asked, his voice commanding the respect of a king. "It's very much uncertain Your Grace. We have just begun digging the upper level of the underground tunnels. We don't know how much is still hidden." He replied meekly. Touya nodded, "Keep up the work, I expect more details soon." With this, he turned and walked away with Yukito and Ayame right behind him. Ayame was amused by the air of sophistication he had just a while ago. 'It's hard to imagine that just minutes before that he had silly shouting match with Sakura like ten year old! I was right to give up my claim to the throne and make him king.' "You keep a very good poker face in front of everyone Touya, but it does not change the fact that you're just a baby who always argues with his little sister." Ayame teased Touya. "Shut up!" Touya turned the other way in mock anger. Both Ayame and Yukito burst out laughing. After a while, Touya joined them too.

But their laughter was suddenly cut short as the earth beneath them began to tremble. Suddenly, a restless moving from inside the ruins caught her senses - Ayame could feel the power resting within the ruins awakening. 'What is inside these ruins?' she wonders, trying to maintain her balance. All around her, the archaeologists were running helter-skelter as the tents they had erected began to fall. "What is going on here?" Touya yells, perplexed. Yukito struggles to give an answer but Ayame beats him to it, "Something's happened in the ruins. This is not normal" Touya was about to say something, but a sudden movement demanded their attention. It was as if a cut was made in the fabric of space itself. As the cut widened, people came out of it, all of the wearing the same black clothes, with metal claws projecting between their knuckles. They bore a sigil, which looked like a bat.

"Where are these people coming from?" Touya asks, to no one in particular, pulling out his sword from its scabbard. "Another dimension…" Ayame whispers. She doesn't know how she knew this, but she knows that she is right. It was like half-forgotten memory. She pulls her scimitars out, standing with her back against Touya's; both of them in their battle positions. "Looks like we are making up for sword practice today" she tells Touya, with a slight smile on her face. "I'll defeat more of them than you!" Touya challenges her, a smirk working up his face. "You have a bet!" Ayame nods. With this, both of them dash in opposite directions, hacking and slashing their opponents. One of them lunges confidently at Ayame, but she expertly dodges him, severing his carotid artery with one clean sweep of her scimitar, while her other hand slashed another one right in the guts. Four to five of the mysterious foot soldiers begin attacking her simultaneously, but she dodged and parried their attacks expertly – a slash here, a jab there, an occasional round kick, a quick elbow in the gut. Within no time she had fended off all of her attackers. "Is that all you can do?" she smirks, looking around for a new victim.

A scream behind her alerts her; Yukito was being attacked by one of the soldiers who managed to escape her and Touya. "Don't you go anywhere near him!" she screams, anger pumping adrenaline through her veins. No one, absolutely no one, messes around with the people she loves. She reaches next to Yukito in no time, swinging both her scimitars at once, such that an 'X' shaped mark was etched on the soldier's chest. Blood spurted out of the wound, falling on her face and staining her cloak as he fell down with a groan. "Are you alright Yuki?" Ayame asks, scanning Yukito for any possible injury. "Of course I'm alright. I have the two best bodyguards right at my service." He replies, smiling. Then suddenly, his eyes widen in shock as he looks behind her. "Ayame watch out!" Ayame turns behind to find another one of the foot soldiers coming at her head on. She dodges the blow just a second late, earning a gash right below her left eye. But she doesn't make the same mistake again; before he could attack again, Ayame plunged both her swords in his chest with such force that it went all the way through. Then she pulled out the sword and the soldier fell down like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Ayame tries to concentrate into the ruins, searching for the presence of Syaoran and Sakura. She freezes when senses Sakura's life-form exposed, as though someone had pulled off the lampshade off an extremely bright lamp. 'I have to get inside,' she thinks, running towards the entrance of the ruins. A sudden wave of raw energy paralyzes Ayame in her tracks. The energy wave seemed rise from the heart of the ruins, up into the heavens and then altogether disappear, as though it never existed. Fear runs through her like an icy knife as she realizes that she couldn't feel Sakura's presence anymore. "Sakura!" she exclaims, running into the ruins. But just before she could enter, her path was obstructed by more of the soldiers. "Damn you!" she curses, taking up a battle stance. "Need help, dear sister?" Touya comes into her field of vision. She's relieved to see Touya again, as she had lost track of him in the heat of the battle. But her relief turns to worry as she notices Touya's pale skin and heavy breathing. "Stay back Touya, you're in no position to fight," she told him, raising her scimitars, standing protectively in front of him. "I'm not going…" but before he could finish the sentence he loses his balance, steadying himself against a wall, his breath labored.

Ayame turns to face the remaining soldiers. "Come get me you little pieces of shit," she whispers and charges head on. Within a matter of minutes, all the foot soldiers were lying in a pool of their own blood while Ayame was wiping the blood and gore of her face and clothes. She runs back to where Touya was supporting himself. But before she could figure out what happened to him, she senses Syaoran close by before seeing him emerging out of the ruins, carrying Sakura in his arms. She saw him and Touya exchange a few words, before Touya lost his balance. "Touya!" she exclaims, running towards them. Yukito was already supporting him by the time she reached there. "There was poison on the opponent's blade," she heard Yukito say.

Ayame goes towards Syaoran, who looked at her with the pleading eyes of an innocent child. "I don't know what happened… how… why…!" he whispers. "Don't take the blame on yourself Syaoran. You did everything you could." Ayame told him, gently placing her hand on his head. When Ayame brushed the bangs off Sakura's face, her hand recoiled instantly – her skin was cold as ice. "Yuki… what's happened to Sakura?" she asks him, desperate. "The princess has lost all her memories… she's lost her very soul" he replies gravely. A sudden knowing passes through Ayame, 'the wave of energy I felt leave the ruins… it was Sakura's soul!' "The memories are now scattered in the form of feathers. And none of the feathers are in this world anymore." Fear grips Ayame's heart, almost choking her. "If she doesn't get them back, she'll die!" Ayame screams. The moment she said the words, panic crossed Syaoran's eyes; but Ayame also sees something else – determination. Determination to save Sakura. "Is there something I can do? Anything?!" Syaoran pleads. Yukito thinks for a moment, and then looks at Ayame. "Help us save her Yuki…" she begs, "Please."

"You weren't supposed to be a part of this tribulation Ayame," Yukito says gravely, "but I guess your very presence can change the course of everything." Ayame doesn't completely understand what he was saying, but she simply nods. "I will now send you both to another world where people live, to the place where somebody has the same power of the moon," he continued, releasing the moon staff of the priest of Clow Country. Syaoran seemed completely confused at this new development. "Who is that person? What do I do when I get there?" he asked as Yukito began working his magic. The wind swirled around them, with more and more intensity. "That person is called 'The Witch of Dimensions.' Please tell everything to her." Yukito replies, all the while weaving his spell. The fabric of space seemed to fluidize around them. The wind moved even faster. "Tell her everything to find a way to save the princess…!" Yukito screamed to make his voice heard the mini gale around. Just before the ground below them engulfed them, Ayame looked at her childhood friend and said, "Look after Touya, Yuki… And tell him I'm sorry…" The last thing she saw was Yukito's face giving her a sad smile. She knew Touya would be mad because she left without any kind of explanation, but as she looked at Syaoran holding Sakura floating through time and space with her, she knew she had to let go of everything if she wanted to help Sakura.

As she travelled in the space between dimensions, Yukito's words from yesterday rang in her head _"It's going to begin soon. Be Prepared!" _'So it's begun.' Ayame thinks. 'Now all I can do is be prepared to do anything I can to help these two.' She extended her hand and placed it on Syaoran's shoulder, as a sign of reassurance. He touched it lightly with his fingers, acknowledging her presence. No words were exchanged, but they both knew deep down inside, that each other was all that they had left now.


	2. Chapter 2 - New Faces

Syaoran was still confused about all that had happened inside the ruins as he hurtled through time and space with Sakura in his arms and Ayame right behind him. Sakura had lost all her memories, her very soul. If she didn't get them back, she would die… That's what Ayame had said back then. Fear gripped his heart. What if he could never see her smile again or hear her giggle? What if he could never tell her that he loved her? 'No.' a voice spoke in his head; calm, focused and determined. 'I will not let her die. I will do everything in my power to get her memories back.' Syaoran felt Ayame touch his shoulder from behind. 'I'm glad Ayame-san is here. Atleast I'm not all alone now.' He thought, touching her hand as acknowledgement. Suddenly, a light shone right in front them. "Looks like we've arrived." Ayame said. Syaoran held Sakura closer to him, tensed as to what was about to come.

The space beneath them began to cave in, dragging them down with them. Syaoran's feet hit solid ground and the bubble surrounding them burst open, revealing a small, old fashioned house nestled between structures that Syaoran had never seen before. He looked behind to see if Ayame was with him. To his relief, Ayame had landed right behind him; she pulling the hood of her cloak to shield her face from the light rain that was falling on them. She was looking straight ahead with a curious look in her eye. Syaoran followed her gaze and saw that she was looking at a woman, standing in front of them. "Are you the witch of dimensions?" Ayame asked. The woman in front tilted her head, her red eyes eyeing them with slight curiosity. "I have been called that." She replied. 'She is the one the High Priest was talking about!' Syaoran realized with a jolt. Without wasting a single second he cried out "Please! Help save Sakura!"

The dimensional witch walked up to them and kneeled in front of Syaoran. "This child's name is 'Sakura' you say, right?" Syaoran nodded. "And your name is?" "Syaoran" he replied. Syaoran saw a flicker of familiarity in the witch's eyes but dismissed it immediately. 'Don't be stupid.' He told himself. 'It's not possible that she knows you.' The witch touched Sakura's forehead gently, "She has lost something very important to her hasn't she?" she said gravely. "She has; and that thing was scattered across various worlds." Ayame answered.

The witch looked at Ayame as though she was looking at someone she had known a very long time ago. "You were not initially meant to take this path Ayame, Crown Princess of Clow." She said slowly. "But I am here now," Ayame replied "And I will do everything in my power to help my sister and Syaoran." Saying this, she placed a hand on Syaoran's shoulder. "Very well then; if this is the course fate has chosen to take." Syaoran felt Ayame stiffen at this comment, he turned to look at her but couldn't fathom her expression because of the hood of her cloak pulled over her head. 'What's going on here? I've never seen Ayame-san behave like this before. And how does the witch of dimensions know Ayame-san's name; she didn't tell her.'

Syaoran heard the witch call someone named Watanuki to fetch something from a safe. As the boy ran inside, the witch turned back to him. "There will be a price to help that child; even so, will you do it?" 'There's no time to think about the price. Nothing can be worse than what's already happened.' He thought. "If there's anything I can do, I'll do it!" he told the witch. Satisfied with his reply, the witch looked towards the sky again. A slight smile lined her pale face. "They're coming…" she whispered. 'Who is coming?' Syaoran wondered.

Soon enough, two people materialized, one on each side. Syaoran was shocked by their sudden appearance and by Ayame's tightened grip on his shoulder; he knew she was surprised too. The one on his left was dressed in black battle gear while the one on his right was dressed in white furs. 'Who are these people? I've never seen clothes like this in all my travels!' he wondered. 'They even look so different!' The man dressed in furs had pale skin with blonde hair and blue eyes while the man in battle gear had a slightly tanned tone with black spiky hair and red eyes. Syaoran had never seen two people looking so antagonistic to each other.

"Who the hell are you?" the man dressed in black asked the witch a little rudely. At the same time, the man dressed furs asked politely "Are you the witch of dimensions?" 'Wow, they are contradicting each other even in speech.' Syaoran thought. The witch pointed at the man dressed in black "You first." "I'm Kurogane. But where the hell are we?" he replied in the same gruff tone. "Japan…" the witch answered, nonchalant. The answer just seemed to annoy Kurogane even more, "Well," he said, "I came from Japan!" The witch seemed amused by his apparent irritation. "This is a different Japan…" she said with a sly smile. "I don't understand." Kurogane growled.

Ignoring the last remark, the witch turned her attention to blonde, "You…?" "I'm a Celes country wizard. My name is Fai D. Fluorite." He answered with a graceful bow. Syaoran was quietly taking everything in. His head was reeling with all the things happening around him. Everything around him changed so suddenly he was having a little difficulty processing it all. He looked at Ayame standing behind him, who seemed to be taking in everything a lot better than him. 'It almost feels like she was already expecting something like this to happen,' he thought.

"Well then," the witch said which snapped Syaoran out of his musings, "Since you are all here that means all of you want some sort of wish." "I want to…" both Kurogane and Fai started together, but that was all that was similar because the next words again contradicted each other. "Return to where I came from..," said Kurogane. "Never return to where I'm from." Fai said. "Hmmm…" the witch pondered, "Those wishes you have, if you pay separately it won't be enough… But if all four of you pay together, it might barely be enough…" 'We pay it together? But our wishes are not even the same… They are totally different!' Syaoran was about to ask but Kurogane beat him to it, "What the hell are you talking about…?" "Please be quiet Kuro!" Fai teased him. This sent Kurogane into a fit, "IT'S NOT KURO! IT'S KUROGANE!" he yelled.

"You three have the same wish." The witch continued, as though nothing had happened, "Syaoran and Ayame, both of you want to go to different worlds to collect Sakura's memories. Kurogane, you want to go back to your own world. Fai, you want to go a world other than your own. Your purposes are different, but the means are the same. You have different reasons why you want to go to different worlds."

Syaoran began to understand bit by bit. 'Even though all of us want different things, we have to follow the same route. And thus, travelling together will be the easiest option.' Syaoran took a look at his perspective companions. They looked odd to him, but didn't look like they would harm him, Ayame or Sakura. 'But I will not be a burden to them. I will do what I have to myself!' he decided. "I'LL NEVER HAND OVER MY SILVER DRAGON!" Kurogane's screams brought Syaoran back from his thoughts. "The witch asked him to hand over his sword." Ayame whispered to him. "Ohh…"

"I'm the only one in this world able to send you to another world." The witch smirked. "Bullshit!" "It's true you know." Fai sang. This just made Kurogane even more annoyed. "So… What is it gonna be tough guy?" the witch asked. "I'll come back for it Witch!" Kurogane growled, handing his sword. The witch now turned to Fai. "Your price is the tattoo on your back." For the first time, Syaoran saw the smile on the wizard's face falter. "Will this wand not do?" he asked, showing the staff he was carrying. "The price is your most valuable thing." The witch reminded him. "I guess I have no other choice then…" Fai sighed. The said tattoo emerged from his back and landed in front of the witch. 'It's shaped like a phoenix.' Syaoran observed.

"Ayame; your price will be that bracelet on your left hand." The witch continued. Syaoran was surprised. He had assumed that her price would be the thunder pendant, the one she uses to summon her magic. "This bracelet is the last thing my father gave to me…" Ayame said. Syaoran was startled by the pain lining her voice. 'I've never seen Ayame-san so sad before!' But he was not the only one who was surprised. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kurogane start. He whipped around and stared at Ayame with disbelief. "I won't be able to use my magic properly without it!" Ayame continued. "You can use it, but you are too afraid too. You must decide." The witch said. Ayame bowed her head down, so Syaoran couldn't see her face. Kurogane was straining to catch a glimpse of Ayame's face, but it remained hidden under the hood. "For Sakura…" Ayame whispered and held out her left hand. "Take it." She told the witch. The bracelet clicked open as soon as she held her hand out. Syaoran noticed Fai standing tensed, a frown lining his features. But as the bracelet floated towards the witch he relaxed. 'What is going on here? I don't understand any of it? Why was Fai-san so tensed when the bracelet opened? Why is Kurogane-san so eager to see Ayame-san's face?'

"And you?" the witch said looking at Syaoran, which jolted him out of his thoughts. "What is your most precious thing that you own? And will you give it to me?" "Yes." He replied without hesitation. 'There is no turning back now.' He thought. "Your price has not been told and yet you will still give it to me? I can only help you travel; the search for the feathers is something you have to do yourself. Even so?" "Yes" he said again. Then the witch did something that surprised Syaoran; she gave him a genuine smile, "Good, you're prepared."

Just then, the boy named Watanuki emerged from the shop, holding what looked like puffballs – one white and one black. The witch picked up the white one. "His name is Mokona Modoki. He will take you to different dimensions. Mokona can take you to another dimension, but he can't control where you land. Your wish becoming true is only by luck." Her eyes grew more serious now. She looked at each one of them with intensity. "But there are no coincidences in this world. There's only destiny – _Hitsuzen. _You were destined to meet each other." At these words, Kurogane flinched a bit and glanced again towards Ayame.

"Syaoran, your payment is… the relationship you have with this girl." The witch said. Syaoran heard Ayame gasp behind him, but he still didn't understand. "To you, the most important thing is the relationship with that girl. So I'll take it." She continued. "What does that mean…?" Syaoran asked, still perplexed. "Even if she gets all her memories back, you will not have the same relationship with her as before." The witch explained. It slowly began making sense to Syaoran. 'She will never remember all the time we had together.' "What is she to you?"

Syaoran closed his eyes and held her closer. Images flashed before his eyes – how as children Sakura was always daring and a little reckless, how she was clumsy but yet kept trying. Her smile, her laugh, the warmth of her gentle touch as she held his hand and led him through the streets of Clow, he remembered it all. "My childhood friend, the princess of my country… and… someone who is very important to me." He whispered. "If you're going to use Mokona, that relationship will disappear. Her memories about you will never return, no matter how many feather's you retrieve. That's your price." The witch said quietly. "You can't do this to him!" Ayame protested. "It's alright Ayame-san." Syaoran replied. "But Syaoran…" "I'll go!" Syaoran said before Ayame could protest any further. "I won't let Sakura die!"

"Travelling through dimensions will be tougher than you think." The witch continued. "People that you know, people from past worlds, people may have different lives in separate worlds. You may meet the same people in many different worlds. For those who were nice to you in one, can't be certain that they will be the same in another. But, you still are determined right?" Syaoran didn't understand much of what she said, but that did not waver him from the path he had decided to take. "I will go" he said. "Readiness and sincerity, qualities that are indispensable in order to accomplish anything; qualities you are properly provided with." The witch said with a smile. "Well then, please get going." The moment she said, the puffball Mokona floated up in the air. Wings bigger than Syaoran burst out from its back. The ground started melting and wind started blowing faster and faster around the little group.

"Ayame, this path is not gonna be without surprises." The witch called out. "What do you mean by that?" Ayame yelled back. "You will regain what you lost a long time ago. Be prepared." If Ayame was confused by what the witch had said, she didn't show it. She simply nodded. As the ground slowly swallowed them up, Syaoran realized there is no going back now. 'The only way, is forward." He told himself.

**XXX**

Far away from the group of traveler's, sitting in a space cut out of time, Fei Wong Reed was looking into his divination mirror with some curiosity. Despite his careful planning, a few of the occurrences were out of his predictions. "The crown princess managed to join them, even after everything you did to prevent it," said the woman with curly hair who was standing right next to him. "Life would be painfully monotonous if everything went according to plan Xing Huo." Fei Wong Reed answered with a smirk. "I have already made arrangements to accommodate our new guest. Nothing will stop me from getting the power I seek, nothing!"

**XXX**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

** I know that compared to my previous chapter this one is a little boring… But I really wanted this scene to be Syaoran's narrative. I hope I have done him justice. I promise to make the next one more interesting… Please do bear with me! Also, please review! Gianti-Faith and rubyblossomA, thank you so much for the review, really motivated me. **

** Just a little trivia – I chose the name Ayame because it means Iris plant with lavender flowers which is her color. I wanted her name to be a flower because the other names – Nadeshiko, Touya and Sakura are all flower names… So I really wanted to keep the trend!**

** I'll update soon. So stay tuned! **


	3. Chapter 3 - Getting to know

"You should wipe yourself, or else you'll catch a cold!"

"Mokona will help too!"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

The entire group had landed in an odd world with whole lot of tall structures like the one in the witch's world. But all it did was to make Kurogane more irritable. 'Tomoyo-hime will have a kick if she saw me like this,' he thought to himself. "Kuro-puu mustn't be so angry all the time or else he will go 'poof'!" Mokona exclaimed, jumping up and down in Kurogane's lap. "If you don't stop doing that it's you who will go 'poof'" Kurogane growled as he picked up Mokona. "Ahh… Let me go, let me go!" Mokona wriggled in his grip. "Now, now," Fai said, plucking Mokona out of his grip, "If something happens to this little guy we'll be stuck here you know." "Hmph…" Kurogane grunted. "I don't like this one bit" he muttered.

"It was nice of that young couple to give us shelter here." Fai continued, wiping himself. Kurogane thought otherwise. The moment they had landed in this world, a couple had found them and gave them lodging. "Normal people just don't let strangers they met on the road inside their homes." He muttered to himself. "You should be more optimistic!" Fai chirped. "And you were strong enough to carry both the young boy and his princess at the same time! You've impressed me Kuro-ne!" 'When the hell is he going to stop with those nicknames?' "Although I know you wanted to carry her." Fai teased, pointing at Ayame who was wrapped up in her cloak, her hood still pulled over her face. Kurogane scowled and turned the other way. It was true that he wanted to carry her; he just wanted an excuse to slip the hood off her face. "You are so eager to see her face huh Kuro-pii!" Fai poked. "Shut up mage." He growled. 'Her voice was exactly like… I must be stupid, how's that even possible! But if I could just see her face… I would know…' he told himself.

At exactly that moment, Ayame stirred. "You're finally awake!" Fai exclaimed. "Where are we?" Ayame asked, looking around. A shiver went through Kurogane. 'That exact same voice…' "Well I don't know which world we are in yet, but we have managed to find a decent place for lodging." Fai explained, "We should meet our hosts soon. By the way, my name is Fai D. Fluorite, but you can call me Fai." "And my name is Mokona!" Mokona said, bouncing over to her. "Well aren't you cute!" Then she pulled her hood down and said "You can call me Ayame. Pleased to meet you." Kurogane's heart was pounding so hard that he felt like it would just burst out of his chest. He couldn't believe his eyes, 'This can't be happening. It's not possible…' he thought. The same black hair, the same fair complexion, the same delicate features and most shockingly – the same lilac eyes; it was too much for him to bear. He folded his hands and looked the other way to calm himself.

"Is he alright?" Ayame asked. "Oh don't worry about him. He's just grouchy." Mokona answered. "Is that so…" Ayame trailed off. Kurogane couldn't help but peek out of the corner of his eye. 'I have to keep observing. I have to convince myself it isn't her.' Ayame went over to the boy who was still sleeping. She placed a hand on his forehead, and then on the girl's, as if checking their temperature. "Sakura is still cold…" she whispered, her brow creased with worry. This did nothing to ease the tempest in Kurogane's mind. 'No, it's not her, it's not her…' he told himself over and over again. Ayame took a towel and started wiping the rain off both the younger ones. "You should wipe the rain off yourself first." Kurogane muttered, "You won't do any good to them if you fall sick."

Ayame seemed surprised at his remark. Then she just gave him a slight smile and started wiping the rain off herself. "Well you should heed your own advice, you haven't dried off too." She said. Kurogane just grunted and looked the other way. "Is there another towel Fai-san, the one I have is already wet." Ayame said, holding out the wet towel. "Here you go." Fai said, handing her a fresh one. "He's awake, he's awake!" Mokona jumped up and down. The boy had just opened his eyes. He then suddenly sat up with jolt and exclaimed "Sakura!" "Calm down Syaoran, she's right here." Ayame said kindly. "Oh…" the boy, Syaoran, said slowly as he realized that he was still holding her. Ayame placed her hand on the boy's head and whispered, "It's gonna be alright Syaoran, we'll save her." The boy just looked at her and gave a sad smile.

As the mage and Mokona introduced themselves to the boy, Kurogane couldn't help but observe Ayame. She was watching everything quietly, her eyes darting between the mage and the boy as they spoke. As her eyes rested on the princess, her eyes grew so sad that all he wanted to do was something to make the sorrow go away. 'It's not her' he told himself again firmly. "And that one over there is Kuro!" he heard the mage say, which brought him right back to reality. "My name is Kurogane!" he growled, repeating the same sentence for what seemed to him the hundredth time. At this Ayame giggled a bit. Kurogane turned towards her and glared. "Sorry about that, but every time you get angry over the nicknames, it's just really amusing!" she said, still giggling. Seeing her smile like that, Kurogane's annoyance melted away. 'I'm gonna have a hard time convincing myself' he thought.

Fai suddenly lunged for the boy, surprising not just him but everyone. "Umm… Fai-san… What are you doing?" Ayame asked, not able to make sense of what was happening. He straightened up almost as quickly as he had lunged, holding a glimmering white feather with a pink pattern on it which vaguely looked like a heart. "Isn't this a fragment of this child's memory?" Fai asked. 'That doesn't look like a memory.' Kurogane thought. "It is!" Ayame exclaimed, gently taking it from Fai. Syaoran was looking at the feather with awe and a little confusion. "What do we do with it Ayame-san?" he asked, a little perplexed. Ayame gently dropped the feather over the girl's chest. 'How is that supposed to help?' Kurogane thought skeptically. To his surprise, the princess's chest rippled and the feather sank into her. 'Ya right, that wasn't weird at all.'

"Her body is gaining warmth!" Syaoran whispered, a small smile lighting his face. Ayame placed a hand on the girl's forehead and breathed a sigh of relief. "But how was that feather here?" she asked, to no one in particular. "Syaoran-kun must have caught that feather unconsciously to help Sakura-chan." Fai said. But the smile on the mage's face didn't convince Kurogane at all. 'He's hiding something.' Kurogane thought. He looked over at Ayame and realized that even she was looking at the mage with an odd expression, as though she was re-evaluating him.

"So, how are we going to search for the remaining feathers?" Fai asked, looking at Syaoran and Ayame. "Well… I felt an energy wave. If I can keep my senses up, when the feather is nearby, I should be able to feel it." Ayame replied. "Should be able to feel it?" Fai inquired, his head tilted to one side with curiosity. "It's just that I don't know how reliable my magic is at the moment," she said with a sad smile, her right hand cupping her left wrist, "Let's just say my magic is a little compromised right now." 'Is it about the bracelet the witch took?' Kurogane wondered.

"Then how will we look for them?" Syaoran whispered, looking at Sakura sleeping in his arms. "Mokona knows!" The white puffball bounced its way up to Syaoran. "How Mokona?" Ayame asked, picking it up. "Just now there was a strong wave from the feather. If it is close, I'll know. When I catch a wave, Mokona's eyes will open!" And then, Kurogane saw one of the few sites that managed to creep him out. Mokona's eyes were wide open… they were just… odd. Kurogane glanced around and saw that he was not the only one who was shocked – Syaoran had a little sweat on his forehead, Ayame looked like it was taking all her strength not to drop Mokona. Only the mage seemed to be taking it all calmly; he still had that stupid smile stuck on his face. "It will be great!" the mage said, patting the puffball, "If the feather is close, Mokona will sense it." Syaoran recovered from the shock quickly, "Will you tell me when the feathers are close by?" he asked. "Leave it to me!" Mokona assured him. "Thank you" Ayame said, kissing it on its head. The puffball giggled, "Mokona liked it!"

'Great, this is just great!' Kurogane thought. Just a few hours ago he was hacking into enemy ninja's doing the thing he loved, fight. Now he was stuck in another dimension with a love-struck couple, an annoying white puffball, a stupid mage and a girl who looked just like… 'No, don't say it. You cannot accept that. It is not her!' a voice inside his head exclaimed. He sighed. He didn't know what he had done to deserve this. _"You must learn the meaning of true strength Kurogane. For that, I'm sending you on this journey." _'What the hell did she mean by learning the meaning of true strength?' he thought, as Tomoyo's parting words rang in his head. 'My true strength was taken away by that stinking witch!' That's it. He won't be pushed around anymore. The rest of them can run around searching for sparkling feathers, he will have no part in it.

"Whether or not you get to search for the feathers is up to you guys," he announced. The rest of them turned around to look at them, but his eyes primarily rested on Ayame. Her head was tilted to one side, her eyes showed polite curiosity. "But this has nothing to do with me. I came here to return to my world, that is my only purpose… I don't plan on joining or helping you." Then, to his surprise, the boy answered, "Yes, this is my problem. I understand," he replied calmly. "We won't give you any trouble Kurogane-san." Ayame replied with an honest smile, "We won't hold you too long in a world." Kurogane was surprised by this reaction; he expected them to feel offended but they actually agreed with him and also promised to be quick about their search. 'I guess I must change my judgment about the boy… and her too…'

Suddenly, the door opened and two people walked in; a lanky young man and a woman with straight, black hair. They both were carrying food and refreshments. "Yo! You woke up!" the man said, "You came from Yuuko-san's place right?" "Yuuko-san?" Syaoran asked. "The witch of the dimensions… She's called by lots of names," the man answered. 'She has a name huh… but a witch is a witch!' Kurogane thought. "Talking about names, I am Arisugawa Sorata" the man announced, handing out tea. "I am Arashi" the woman said. "By the way, this is my lovely wife… Engrave that in your minds" Sorata said dreamily. "Great, another love-struck fool" Kurogane mumbled. Then Sorata came right in front of Kurogane, placed his hands on his shoulder and said, "If you flirt with my honey, I will kill you!" Kurogane's blood boiled. "WHY IS IT ONLY ME!" he yelled as Sorata danced towards the others. 'Ya, the woman is pretty, but that doesn't mean I would flirt with someone I met ten minutes ago! I'm a ninja, not some womanizer!' Kurogane thought to himself.

Sorata picked up Mokona and said "Well, did Yuuko-san give you this?" "The name is Mokona Modoki!" Mokona said with flair and pomp. "That's long… Can I call you Mokona?" Sorata asked, completely taken up by the puffball. "Agreed!" Mokona exclaimed. 'Why is it that ever since this whole 'journey' began that I've been meeting idiots?' Kurogane thought to himself as Sorata and Mokona chit-chatted among themselves. "Mokona can't choose the world in which you guys land in right? I'd say you guys are very lucky that you landed here." Sorata said. "And you say that because…?" Ayame asked. "Because, this is the world where there is nothing but happiness…" Sorata said in a matter-of-fact voice, walking towards the window. "Here it is…" he said, opening the window with a smug smile, "The Republic of Hanshin!"

It was a pretty marvelous sight, even Kurogane agreed. It was close to sunset and the stars had just begun to peep out. But the lights on the ground blurred them all out… There were lights of every color imaginable decorated on the buildings, huge boards had pictures moving on them so fast that it made Kurogane's head hurt. "It's beautiful" Ayame whispered, standing right next to him. When she had moved, Kurogane didn't know, but as she stood next to him, he could see something on her face he had never noticed before – innocence. She was staring out at the lights, as though drinking in everything in front of her, just like a small child. He was no fool to think she hadn't seen the terrors of the world, but still, he saw that she had managed to retain a child-like innocence. 'It is her isn't it?' Kurogane finally admitted it to himself.

**XXX**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

** This chapter was a little difficult to write compared to the other two… But I hope I have correctly interpreted Kurogane's emotions. Also, I tried to keep it as short as I could but still… it turned out to be quite big didn't it? Oh well… Can't help it!**

** Whosever has read so far, thank you! I hope you guys keep reading ahead. I'll put up the next chapter as soon as I can! Ciao! **


	4. Chapter 4 - Guardian Spirit

Ayame was mesmerized by the sight in front of her – she had never seen something so dazzling in her life ever before. Clow was a country of modest means; even the grandest festivals didn't have half the glamour of Hanshin. After she had taken everything in, she noticed a presence beside her. An aura that was tainted with blood and terror, but also had something buried deep inside it – bravery, simplicity and kindness. It was Kurogane. There was something about the ninja that she just couldn't put a finger on… like as though she knew him in a different life. She knew the ninja felt the same; she had noticed how at Yuuko's shop he had been eager to see her face and how, ever since she woke up here in Hanshin, he was observing her every move.

"You know me from somewhere in your world… don't you?" she asked him. Kurogane seemed surprised. He looked the other way and mumbled "Why the hell would you say something like that?" Ayame smiled to herself; Kurogane reminded her of Touya a lot. Her heart weighed down as she thought of her twin brother. The last time she saw him he was weak because of all the wounds in fight with those bat-sigil soldiers. 'I hope he is alright… I hope Yuki is alright too…' "There's no point worrying about the people you left behind," said a gruff voice next to her. "Huh?" "That's what you were thinking about right?" Kurogane asked, his red eyes reading her like an open book. "You have a wish, a purpose, and you must always look forward to accomplish it. That's what will make you happy and in turn, everyone around you," with this, he turned and sat down in one corner of the room. 'He really is like Touya,' Ayame smiled to herself.

Sorata was explaining about the history of Hanshin when Ayame rejoined the group. Syaoran was hanging on to every word he was saying. 'Just like when he was little,' When Syaoran had just moved to Clow with the archaeologist Fujitaka, Ayame would watch over him and Sakura sometimes when they were playing in the castle. _"Onae-chan, please tell us a new story! I'm sure Syaoran would love to hear it too!" "If it's no trouble Ayame-san."_ 'He was always a curious boy' she thought as went and sat down next to him. "This is an available room in a hotel run by my lovely wife and I." Sorata said as she sat down. "She is a beautiful manager and a great cook too…" Ayame giggled. Sorata was so love-struck that he was drooling. From the end of the room Kurogane mumbled something which was indecipherable, but Ayame was sure it was some comment about their hosts.

"Pay attention!" Sorata yelled, pointing a finger at Kurogane. At that exact moment, something hit him right on top of his head. Ayame's battle instinct's kicked in immediately; she was kneeling, her hands reaching for her belt by habit. But as she moved to grab her scimitars, she realized her belt was empty. "Dammit" she muttered under her breath as she realized she left them back in Clow. It was not only Ayame who was on her guard, Fai and Kurogane both were alert and defensive as well. "I did not sense anything," Kurogane growled, looking around for the culprit. "Did you throw something at me?" he yelled at Sorata. "If he did the angle of shock would be different. It was from the top." Fai said. Ayame took a moment to observe the blonde. There was something about Fai that bothered her, whether it was the fake smile that was permanently plastered on his face, or the swirls of black that were tainting his perpetual blue aura, she didn't know. But she knew one thing – the mage was hiding something.

Sorata looked confused at the entire commotion. "What are you guys getting so worked up about?" he asked, looking at them, "I just used my Kudan…" "Kudan?" Ayame, Syaoran, Fai and Kurogane asked in unison. "Oh yeah! You guys are from a different dimension, so you don't know about it." Looking at everyone's blank expression, he went back into his history teacher mode. "Everything in this world is haunted by a Kudan." "What do you mean by haunted?" Ayame asked. "Even if you are from another dimension, you will still have a Kudan." Arashi said. 'This world is very interesting…' Ayame thought to herself, 'Who would've thought something like this even existed. But if this world has such power… It will be difficult to retrieve Sakura's feather.'

"Searching for Sakura's feathers can bring conflict," Ayame said softly, catching everyone's attention, "Fragments of a soul have a certain power, if somebody with a twisted mind manages to find it before we do… They will be reluctant to give it back." "That won't be much of a problem… because a Kudan can be used in a battle." Arashi told them. "But how can we use a spirit in a battle?" Syaoran asked, just as perplexed as Ayame. "What it is, and how to use it, that's something you have to see for yourself," Sorata said with a smile, "To understand a Kudan, you have to see it with your own eyes…"

"Alright guys it's almost midnight, time to sleep! The boys will take one room, the girls another!" Sorata announced. "Okay!" Fai exclaimed while Kurogane yelled in annoyance, "Why do I have to share a room with him!" Ayame looked over to Syaoran, who was looking at Sakura with worry lining his face. Ayame knew what she had to do. "Sorata-san, I'll share a room with Kurogane-san and Fai-san. Syaoran can stay with Sakura."

Her announcement shocked everyone. "Firstly call me Sorata-chan. And secondly, are you sure?" Sorata asked, worried, "I don't trust this big black guy!" he said, pointing at Kurogane. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!" Kurogane yelled. "I'm completely capable of taking care of myself Sorata-chan," mischief ran through her mind as she added, "I'll clonk Kuro-tan on his head if he tries something funny." "MY NAME IS KUROGANE!" Ayame giggled, she was right, this is fun. "Also Sorata-chan, I'll be there, I will be protecting the beautiful princess!" Fai chirped. Kurogane glared at the mage while Ayame found herself blushing at this comment, 'Why the hell am I blushing!'

"You're doing this for me, aren't you Ayame-san?" Syaoran asked; his amber eyes filled with guilt. Ayame ruffled his hair affectionately and said, "I know you want to be with her Syaoran. But remember, you need to get some rest. We will have a long day tomorrow. Okay?" "Yes" Syaoran, with a grateful smile. "Alright then boys, let's get some sleep!" she announced, walking out of the room, dragging Kurogane and Fai along with her. When Ayame grabbed Fai's arm, she could've sworn that she saw the tall blonde blushing.

**XXX**

'Well, I'm still not feeling sleepy…' Fai thought. It had been almost an hour since Ayame had dragged him and Kurogane into this room and declared it was time to sleep. She was already fast asleep next to him… though he doubted Kurogane was asleep. 'The past few hours have been eventful haven't they…?' he thinks. He let out a long sigh, it had not been easy to slip the feather and convince everyone that it was stuck to the boy's cloak. But he had managed it; well at least the Syaoran had bought the story, but he doubted that his other two companions were convinced. "You're very shrewd aren't you?" he whispered, looking at Ayame sleeping next to him.

Ayame had intrigued him the moment he had set his eyes on her. There was something about the way she held herself, the way she spoke, the way she fussed over the teenagers… the way she innocently stared out at the lights of Hanshin drew him to her. It was a new feeling for Fai; he had never felt anything like this before. Maybe… just maybe… he might even open up to…

'No! Don't even think about it!' a voice inside his head spoke, a voice that was scared and broken, 'Remember what that man told you, and remember what you're here in this journey for… Remember the promise you made! You cannot begin to develop feelings for her… You'll just end up hurting her, like you always hurt the ones you care about.' A sad, sarcastic smile went up Fai's face – the voice was right, no one can be happy if they are close to him, "That's right, I cannot let anyone close to me…" he whispered. He won't let anyone become a liability ever again, especially not to someone as innocent and pure hearted as her.

As he lay down, facing the other way, he didn't notice Kurogane quietly watching everything that had passed.

**XXX**

"Ayame-chan…! Hurry up; we are all waiting for you…!" Fai called out from downstairs. Ayame was still in the room she was sharing with Kurogane and Fai. She kept checking and rechecking her outfit in the mirror. Arashi had assured her that the clothes she was wearing were the kind all the girls her age wore in Hanshin… but Ayame was not convinced. 'It doesn't suit me at all; I can't go out like this!' As Fai called out her name again, she sighed. 'I don't have an option now, do I?' As she reached the lobby, she saw that the boys were waiting for her outside. She stopped right next to the door, where the rest could only see her face. "C'mon now Ayame-chan, don't be shy!" Fai sang.

'Okay!' Ayame thought. Taking a deep breath, she walked out, "Okay you three, don't laugh at me alright?" She felt the color rising up in her cheeks as she raised her head to look at her fellow travelers. All three of them just stared at her and both Kurogane and Fai were a little pink. "Fine, laugh away…!" Ayame sighed. "No Ayame-san, I think it really suits you!" Syaoran said. "Really?" Ayame said looking down at her outfit. She was wearing a short lavender color skirt which came just a below her mid-thigh with a white, V-necked top; teamed with a black belt and ankle boots. "You look very sexy Ayame-chan!" Fai chirped up. "It does suit you very well," said a woman from behind. Ayame turned around and saw Arashi and Sorata walking out as well.

Sorata walked up to Ayame and gave her a wallet, shaped like a frog. "There's lunch money inside, so all of you find a good place for lunch okay?" "Thank you Sorata-chan!" Ayame said with a smile. "Why give it to her?" Kurogane asked. "Because she looks the most trustworthy! You might just run off with the money" Sorata said with a goofy smile. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" Kurogane screamed. "Well you can't blame Sorata-chan you know… You keep brooding all the time Kuro-chii!" Ayame teased him. "MY NAME IS KUROGANE!"

"Plus, Ayame-chan is so cute and sexy at the same time, everyone is bound to trust her!" Fai said… which made Ayame blush once more, "Just like a pretty bird," Fai continued, ignoring the color rising in Ayame's face, "I know, let's call her Tori-chan from now on!" Then Ayame did something she didn't think she would do – she clonked Fai on his head with her fist. But that just made the mage more amused, "Tori-chan, Tori-chan!" he kept chanting, so much that even Mokona joined in. Ayame sighed, 'He's not gonna stop is he?' she thought.

The four of them kept walking through the streets of Hanshin with Ayame leading the way. As they walked into a market, a vendor at a fruit shop called out to them, "Yo! Fellows, want to buy some apples?" he said, holding out a red colored fruit. 'Wait a minute… that's not right…' Ayame thought. She was about to ask, but Syaoran beat her to it, "This is an apple?" The vendor was surprised at the comment. "Apple?" he said incredulously, "Of course it is an apple!" "Apples in Tori-chan's world don't look like this?" Fai asked. "The shape is the same, but the color is more yellowish…" Ayame said while Syaoran nodded his head in agreement. "But that's a pear!" Kurogane interjected "No they are not Kuro-ne!" Ayame teased. "Pears are redder with a stalk on top…" Syaoran explained. "That's a laki fruit…!" Fai grinned. They all would have continued arguing if it wasn't for the vendor who yelled, "Hey! Do you want to buy any or not!?" shocking them all out of their argument. "Buy!" exclaimed a high pitch voice. Ayame turned around to see that the voice actually belonged to Mokona.

So finally, they bought a few apples and stopped at a nearby bridge to munch on them. "The apples taste good!" Ayame said, taking another bite. Syaoran and Fai nodded in agreement while Kurogane just grunted. "Oh, I haven't asked… How did you get to the dimensional witch's place?" Fai asked Syaoran. "We were sent by the priest in my country" He answered. "Ah! That priest is really something! It's not easy to transport people across dimensions" Fai said. "Yuki was always talented with his magic; he is the strongest mage in Clow Country!" Ayame said with pride. "Yuki?" Fai asked in a strange tone. It sounded like jealousy! 'Don't be stupid Ayame!' "His name is Yukito." Ayame explained, "Me, Touya – who is the ruler of Clow and my brother – and Yukito have been friends since we were children. So Touya and I affectionately call him Yuki!" "Ohh…" he trailed off.

Then he attacked Kurogane, "How about Kuro-rin?" Ayame saw a vein throb on his forehead before he answered, "I was forcefully sent by the princess of my country" "Did you peek in when the princess was bathing and sent away as punishment… huh Kuro-puu?" Ayame teased. "SHUT UP!" Kurogane roared while Ayame, Fai and Mokona burst out laughing. "What about you mage?" Kurogane asked. "Me? I went there on my own." Fai said. "Then you didn't have to ask the witch for help, you could've travelled between worlds by yourself." Kurogane, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Fai just gave a smile, that forced fake smile, as he replied, "Even with my power, I can only transport myself to another world once."

'That doesn't seem right!' Ayame thought. The boys continued talking, but Ayame tuned them out, concentrating on Fai's magical aura. What she saw surprised her so much that it took all her strength not to gasp out loud. His aura was so powerful that the rest of the world looked dark and gloomy. The waves of magic pulsating through the energy channels in his body were the strongest Ayame had ever seen. 'It's stronger than Yuki's… Even stronger than mother's!' With that amount of power, anyone could travel across dimensions for as many times as they wanted! 'Why did he lie…?' Ayame wondered.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh….!" The scream bought Ayame out of her thoughts. She focused her sight back to normal and looked around for the source of the commotion. "There!" Syaoran said pointing out to the top of the nearest building. There were a group of at least 20 people, all of them wearing the same outfit and matching goggles. Right below the same building, there were another group of people, again dressed in a similar fashion. "We'll get you this time for sure! This territory belongs to us!" said the man on top of the building, who seemed to be the leader of the group standing on top of the building. 'Who are these people?' Ayame wondered as the crowd around them began to clear out. "Just because you have a high level Kudan don't be so cocky!" yelled a man from the group below.

With a battle cry all of them lifted their arms… and what Ayame saw next was something she had never seen before – each of them had a small spirit in the shape of an animal above their hand. These spirits were throwing energy beams at their opponents. "So that's a Kudan?" Kurogane asked no one in particular. "No wonder Mokona didn't scare anyone," Fai said a grin on his face. All this while both the leaders were only watching the entire fight. Then the leader from the group below summoned his kudan – an ape which was much bigger than his teammate's kudans. He aimed it at the other leader. But seeing the ape come towards him at full force did not faze the other guy. With a smirk on his face, he summoned his own Kudan – a huge stingray. 'That's a strong Kudan!' Ayame gasped… the energy levels it was shooting out was impressive!

The stingray attacked the ape at its master's command. The ape, obviously, couldn't take the impact and disappeared, but the water attack of the stingray did not. It made its way towards an innocent bystander. "Watch out!" Ayame yelled, worried. But before she could do anything, Syaoran ran past her and threw his arms over the other boy protectively. "SYAORAN!" Ayame screamed. 'What the hell is this boy thinking?' Ayame thought, as the water beam sped towards him.

Suddenly, a wall of flame erupted just before the beam could reach them. As Ayame watched in awe, the wall of flame materialized into a beautiful wolf. It was Syaoran's kudan. 'It's strong… almost as strong as the one that almost attacked him!' The man with the stingray kudan seemed impressed. He spoke, but his words were muffled as Ayame's senses picked something else and focused on it; another kudan was gearing up for attack – an attack that was aimed directly towards Syaoran. But nor Syaoran or the other guy or anyone else noticed it. 'I have to do something!' she thought desperately.

_'Do you want to protect him?' _a voice whispered; a voice which radiated with power and wisdom. 'Not just him, I want the power to protect everyone I love' Ayame thought as she thought of all the people she ever cared about – Sakura, Syaoran, Touya, Yukito, her father… and her mother… her mother who died because of her inability, her powerlessness… "I'll never let that happen ever again! Ever!" Ayame whispered. _'You have a strong and pure heart which is gentle and yet fierce,' _the voice said, _'My power is yours to command child, for you have moved me with your determination.' _

The moment those words were spoken, electricity cackled at Ayame's palms, but just so little that only she noticed it. She concentrated at the area surrounding Syaoran and wove a shield around him and his wolf kudan. As she braced for impact, a swift and silent attack rammed itself against her shield; but it was so quiet that nobody noticed the silent battle. 'You're not getting past so easily,' Ayame smirked as she concentrated hard. By increasing her power just by a hairline, she deflected the attack with ease. The presence of the attacker vanished instantly. 'Good riddance!'

No one had noticed the silent battle that had happened between Ayame and the silent assailant… and Ayame was happy. She didn't want to be showing off just yet.

**XXX**

Up above the clouds of Hanshin… even higher than the Hanshin tower, the would be assailant was smiling to himself, amused. He hadn't expected anyone to sense his attack, let alone counter it. "You are beautiful mystery now, aren't you?" he smirked. "I'll find you soon enough!"

**XXX**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

** Another chapter done! Yaaaaayyy! I hope you guys liked the story so far. This update was slow, sorry about that. I had a lot of work that kept me from finishing this chapter, but I finally did! *grins* The next few updates are going to be even slower – June is a busy month as I have my internship going on, which will take up almost the entire day. But hey, I'll keep trying anyway! :D**

** I've been asked a lot of questions as to with whom Ayame is going to end up with… and… well I'm not giving the answer just yet! You have to keep reading to know. :P **

** A big thank you to all who have read this fan-fic so far… and also for the reviews. All the support means a lot to me cuz this is my first story ever…! Keep reading and I promise not to disappoint you guys! Until the next time! **


	5. Chapter 5 - The Strength of the Ninja

"So you admire Shougo Asagi?" Fai asked with a smile. "Yes!" Masayoshi answered, slightly embarrassed. The entire group was sitting at a cozy restaurant, waiting for their lunch. Masayoshi, the boy whom Syaoran had saved earlier, had taken them there as a token of his appreciation. He had said this was one of the most popular places in the town. 'Well I won't disagree, the air smells wonderful,' Fai thought. "But I also admire Syaoran," Masayoshi said shyly. Syaoran just looked confused, 'Such an innocent boy,' Fai thought. "The top kudan is with you, it's pretty amazing!" Masayoshi continued.

"Top kudan?" Ayame asked. "The best kudan; the 4th level is the bottom, 3rd level, 2nd level, 1st level and it goes upwards… the top is the best." Masayoshi explained. "Having the best kudan was stopped by the countries a long time ago, but people still use it." "So, that leader has a really strong kudan," Fai asked, remembering the stingray kudan from earlier. "Yes! Syaoran-kun is the same. A strong kudan, the best kudan, only goes with people who have a strong mind." Masayoshi continued. "A kudan is something that is controlled by the mind, a kudan reflects upon the strength of mind."

'Then the wolf kudan of fire suits Syaoran-kun very well,' Fai thought. Fai had never seen anyone so focused and determined as the young boy. If the kudan reflects the strength of the mind, the fact that Syaoran-kun had the strongest kudan was not any surprise. He glanced at Kurogane who was sitting right next to him, staring at the okonomiyaki sizzling on the hot plate in front of them, as though itching to do something. Fai was sure the warrior would have a powerful kudan too, 'Powerful enough to match that temper of his,' Fai smiled to himself. 'But what kind of kudan would Tori-chan have…?' Fai wondered. Ayame always emanated strength, but according to Fai, she didn't seem like a warrior. 'She just feels too gentle to be one,' he decided.

Kurogane began fidgeting with the food in front of him. Just when he was about to flip it over, a shout shocked all of them. "WAIT!" As Fai turned around, he saw the shout came from a tall, slightly tanned, black haired man with navy blue eyes. Behind him stood a pale skinned man with round glasses. "The King! And the Priest!" Syaoran exclaimed. Fai whipped around to see Ayame shocked, her eyes widened in disbelief, "Touya… Yukito…" she whispered. 'Her brother and her best friend…' Fai recalled from the conversation yesterday. "I think you are mistaken," the black haired man said, whom Fai assumed to be Touya, not at all amused, "I am not the king." He then turned to Kurogane and said, "Please wait so you don't knock something over." "H-Hey…!" Kurogane retorted, but Touya just went over to the other table.

"He is the King in your country then?" Fai asked as he watched Touya move to another table. "Yes." Syaoran answered, still in shock. "It's like the witch of dimensions said," Ayame whispered, "You might meet someone you know from a different world, but they'll have different lives…" She didn't seem to be talking to anyone in particular. 'She definitely is more shocked than Syaoran-kun on seeing those two…' Fai observed. The light in her eyes seemed dimmed, as though her mind was far away, no doubt thinking about the Touya and Yukito in her world. The talk about different worlds and different selves alerted Kurogane as well, who was watching Ayame from the corner of his eye, his mind too wandering down paths Fai couldn't fathom. Fai could see that something was up between these two – Kurogane was just too curious about the crown princess. Uneasiness went through him like cold wind; he didn't want anybody looking at Ayame.

"Tori-chan!" Fai exclaimed; bringing his fist down at the table, but not too hard. "Huh?" Ayame said, surprised, her eyes regaining their normal light. "Looks like you were lost for a moment." "Are you alright Ayame-san?" Syaoran asked, worried. "I'm alright Syaoran, Fai-san." Ayame answered, smiling, but Fai could still see a twinge of sadness in her smile. Kurogane seemed to be shaken out his reverie too. He just gave Fai an odd look and shrugged. At that moment, Fai realized he almost exposed himself from the shell he had carefully crafted. 'I must not let my guard down,' he thought, putting up the smile on his face – the smile he had been carrying around his whole life, 'I must not slip.'

The rest of the meal was uneventful… well except for Kurogane and Mokona fighting over the food. Just as everyone finished eating their food, Yukito came over to their table and asked, "Is there anything else you will need?" Before anyone could say anything, Fai took the lead and answered, "There won't be anything else, thank you," "The manju bun ate up half of my food!" Kurogane grumbled. "No I did not! Kuro-puu was too mean to share so Mokona just took some!" Mokona said jumping up and down. "MY NAME IS KUROGANE!" Kurogane yelled, almost turning over the table. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Mokona and another smacked Kurogane right on his head. "Stop creating a scene, both of you! Behave!" Ayame said sternly. Kurogane just huffed and looked the other way while Mokona cooed, "Tori-chan saved me from Kuro-monster! Tori-chan is my hero!" "I won't remain your hero if you don't behave now Mokona," Ayame said with smile as she carefully placed Mokona on her shoulder.

"Sorry about the entire commotion," Ayame told Yukito, who was patiently watching the shenanigans with a smile. "It's the first time you and your friends are here right?" Yukito asked. "Y-Yeah…" Ayame said. "Well if that's the case, lunch is on the house." Touya said, walking up to their table. "No! We can't do that!" Ayame said, flabbergasted, pulling out the wallet Sorata had given her. Touya placed a hand her wallet and said, "That won't be necessary Miss… You can pay us the next time you visit," he said with a small smile as Yukito nodded in agreement. Ayame seemed reluctant to give in, but then she finally let out an exasperated sigh, "You two are stubborn as always…" "As always?" Yukito asked. Ayame let out a small gasp as she realized her mistake but quickly rectified it, "Oh no…. it was nothing. It's just that you two remind me of someone I know," she said with a smile.

"We'll be back soon!" Mokona exclaimed from Ayame's shoulder as they were leaving. Touya just raised his hand in acknowledgement while Yukito waved. Ayame turned back and gave the two a smile. All the while, Fai was carefully watching all that happened. 'It must be nice, to have friends and family…' he thought to himself as Ayame was trying to break up another fight between Mokona and Kurogane. Fai had never known any kind of companionship in his life, even though he was always surrounded by people in Luval Castle. 'And you don't even need any kind of companionship;' he told himself, 'remember your purpose, why you are on this journey…' As Fai closed his eyes, an image flashed in his mind – his king sleeping beneath the pond of clear water in Luval Castle and a boy, with pale skin and long, blonde hair, also lying in the same pool. "That's right…" he whispered, as ran towards the others.

**XXX**

"WHO IS THE BOY CALLED SYAORAN!?" yelled a stout guy with a pink Mohawk. 'What now?' Ayame wondered. It was pretty eventful day so far, with Syaoran's kudan, a glimpse of her kudan, the mystery attacker and meeting the alternate versions of Touya and Yukito… Ayame was not sure how much more surprises she could take. The group had just left the restaurant and was walking down the street when the stout guy yelled out. "Why do you want to know?" Fai asked politely. "Are you the man that Shougo said he liked?" he asked. Ayame noticed that behind him, there were at least 15 other men with the same clothes and a Mohawk. 'Great, another street gang…' "What if I am?" Fai asked, with a smile on his face. 'What is he playing at?' Ayame thought seeing Fai's smile.

"I am Syaoran." Ayame whipped around to see the boy stand in front the man with determination. "That's a kid! You're joking!" he yelled at the men standing behind him. "Hey…." Ayame was about to retort, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Just a minute," Fai said, "Let's see what happens next…" "Are going to join Shougo's team?" the Mohawk man continued. "Team?" Syaoran asked. The question just annoyed the man even more. "Don't play dumb with me! Shougo liked you. You've been haunted with a special kudan. If you join Shougo's team, I won't forgive you!" 'Special kudan… news about that got around fast enough…' Ayame thought. "I don't intend to join any team, nor yours nor Shougo's" Syaoran told the man firmly. Ayame smirked, 'Nothing fazes him.'

"So you plan to make your own team!?" the man screamed, almost in panic. He extended his hand and Ayame felt his energy change. "Syaoran be careful! He's summoning his kudan!" Ayame warned. The moment she uttered the words, a huge crab like animal materialized. "I'm going to break you to pieces!" "Wow, it's so big!" Fai and Mokona cooed. "Now is not the time to admire the kudan!" Ayame yelled. "Hey wait, I don't intend to fight!" Syaoran yelled as the crab's tail swung at him. He ducked right in time and the tail whipped right through the pillar behind him.

As another attack made its way towards the boy, Ayame ran and pushed him away from the spot into safety, but she herself tripped over the debris and twisted her ankle. 'Dammit!' she cursed as she tested her foot against the floor. Lightening went through her as her foot touched the floor. 'This will take a while to heal, even with my internal magic…' she thought. "No one interferes with me!" the Mohawk man screamed as his kudan geared up for another attack. 'I'm in no position to dodge that now…!' Ayame panicked. She shut her eyes and waited for impact, but it never came.

As Ayame slowly opened her eyes, she saw Kurogane standing in front of her. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Well I've been better… but I'll survive," Ayame teased. Kurogane gave her a scowl as Syaoran came running up to her, "Are you alright Ayame-san?" he asked. "I'm fine Syaoran" she reassured him. "Kid, help her move to a safer place; I'll take care of this clown." Kurogane growled. "But Kurogane-san, Yuuko-san still has our sword… how will you fight?" Syaoran asked. "I don't need a sword to take care of this" Kurogane smirked.

"You sure are feisty right now Kuro-ne!" Ayame teased him as Syaoran helped her to where Fai and Mokona were standing, but she was really worried about him. "Kuro-tan is soooooo happy to be in Hanshin!" Fai and Mokona sang together. "SHUT THE HELL UP! ALL OF YOU!" Kurogane yelled, "And you," he smirked at the guy with the Mohawk, "Are you gonna attack me or what?" 'What is he thinking? He doesn't even have a weapon… how does he intend to fight?' Ayame fretted.

In this entire commotion, Ayame didn't notice Masayoshi return. "Masayoshi-kun… do you know this man?" Ayame asked. "That team hits our neighborhood. They fight Shougo-san for territories" Masayoshi answered. "Look at how my first grade kudan moves!" yelled the guy with the Mohawk. This time, the kudan instead of swishing its tail, sent a rain of spikes which Kurogane dodged with ease and landed safely in front of a pillar, much to Ayame's relief. But her relief turned to dismay as one of the spikes cut the pillar clean, sending it crashing over the ninja. "KUROGANE-SAN!" Ayame and Syaoran yelled in unison. 'He is stronger than that… he is fine… he is!' Ayame tried to reassure herself. The gang began to laugh as the leader began to taunt Kurogane, calling him weak. Panic started building up as in Ayame as the gang kept laughing, 'Kurogane….'

"Annoying…" a voice growled from beneath the rubble. Then suddenly, a huge piece moved of the pillar, revealing Kurogane, with a few scratches and bruises, but mostly unharmed. "Your constant talking is so annoying" 'Thank the heavens' Ayame breathed a sigh of relief. "How did you survive that!" the leader yelled, not pleased to see his opponent well, "My kudan is first grade! It is very strong!" "It still has a weak area," Kurogane said thoughtfully, "If I had my sword, I could stop this quickly"

That exact moment, Ayame felt the energy around Kurogane swirl and increase in intensity. The source of the energy was from deep within him and it kept pulsating and magnifying, till it manifested itself in a magnificent blue dragon. "What?" Kurogane gasped in surprise, so did everyone who was watching. "It's amazing!" Ayame whispered. As she kept looking, the dragon's form shimmered and melted into a sword – a sword so big it was almost as big as Kurogane. "I can use this ay?" Kurogane smirked, swinging the sword over his head to check its balance.

"Is that your kudan?" the Mohawk guy yelled, "Well… It looks like it's going to fall. This will stop you – GUNSHOT CRAB ATTACK!" On command, his kudan started shooting the spikes on his body again, but this time a lot more precision and speed. But the attack didn't faze Kurogane at all. He simply swung the sword and let a wave of energy, which easily cut into the kudan as if it was made of butter. "Gaaaaaaaahhhhh!" the Mohawk guy whimpered as his kudan melted away. "Wow!" Ayame breathed as Masayoshi and Syaoran gaped in awe, while just gave a knowing smile. 'I always knew he was strong… but didn't know the extent of his strength' Ayame thought to herself, impressed by Kurogane's prowess.

"You… you already made a team…" the Mohawk guy said, pointing a trembling finger at Kurogane, "Syaoran's team… and you're a part of it!" "No!" Kurogane said with a frown, a fire burning in his eyes, "I work by myself, only for Princess Tomoyo!" The seriousness with which Kurogane spoke about the princess, Ayame understood that he very deeply cared about her. 'Well I will say one thing…' she thought, 'Princess Tomoyo sure is a damn lucky person!'

**XXX**

** FINALLY! I know I took forever to update this chapter, sorry about that. I had a really busy week… hardly got time to write, but I did try… I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It was a rather difficult one, as Fai is a very complicated character. Figuring out what he thinks was a lot more difficult than I thought, but I think I have done him justice.**

** Thanks for all who have read this fic so far, it really makes me happy… also thanks for all the reviews… and more reviews are most welcome! I'll try update as soon as possible… till then, Ciao! **


	6. Chapter 6 - Trying to decipher the Mage

"Mokona, Kurogane-san… stop behaving like kindergarteners!" Ayame yelled, as both of them kept throwing utensils around the kitchen, "We are guests!" But her shouts had absolutely no effect, they kept yelling and running… well in Mokona's case – hopping. "Kuro-puu, Kuro-puu, Kuro-puu! Angry baby Kuro-puu!" Mokona sang. "MY NAME IS KUROGANE YOU LITTLE PORK BUN!" Kurogane roared, running after Mokona. Ayame sighed as Fai giggled at their shenanigans. "You have to admit, it's really amusing!" Fai said, smiling. "Yeah" Ayame admitted.

The group was cleaning up after dinner Arashi had made for them. Ayame had offered to do the chores, but if she had known that Mokona and the ninja would start running around she would have never dragged them into it. Syaoran had offered to help as well, but Ayame refused. "Stay with Sakura, I know you want to," Ayame had told him. 'The only one who can really help her is him,' she thought.

"You sure seem to trust Syaoran-kun a lot," Fai asked her, as though reading her thoughts, "One would think that being the elder sister and all, you would be more protective." "Being the elder one, I am expected to what is best for my little sister," Ayame answered with a smile, "And the best thing for Sakura right now is to be with Syaoran. It's his warmth she needs now, not mine. He is her special person after all" "You mean something like a soul mate?" Fai asked, curiosity shining in his blue eyes. Ayame thought for a moment and said "Yeah… you can say that…" "Soul mate… that sounds… nice…" Fai said wistfully, more to himself than Ayame.

Ayame couldn't help but think that there was more to the blonde mage than smiles and giving annoying nicknames. The mage, on the contrary, always seemed to be in pain, which he very successfully masked with that smile. The more and more Ayame observed him, the more she saw that the smile was completely fake. 'What is he hiding?' she thought. She was about to comment but then stopped herself, who was she to say anything? She herself had hidden a lot of things from the ones she loved and had masked her troubles, in her case, behind her scimitars. The mage had his right to keep secrets.

Ayame turned her attention back to Kurogane and Mokona in time to see the little one successfully overturn a pot of water over the ninja's head. "Heeheehee… I got ya!" Mokona chirped. Kurogane got so angry that Ayame could have sworn that some the water began to evaporate, but before he could launch another vicious attack, he gave out a small yelp of pain – the water had reached the wounds he had gotten from the kudan fight earlier. "Kurogane-san, you need to get those cleaned," Ayame said, observing all the cuts. "Hmph, I'm a warrior. These tiny scratches won't affect me. You should be more worried about that ankle you twisted" Kurogane said.

"Oh, my ankle? It's already healed," Ayame said and to prove her point, she stood up on her toes and did a twirled like a ballerina. "How is that possible? You had twisted it bad… you couldn't even walk properly!" Kurogane growled; his eyes widened in disbelief as Fai cooed, "Tori-chan your amazing!" "I have my internal magic, so I heal up quickly," Ayame said with a smile. "But Tori-chan said you can't use your magic properly anymore…" Fai asked.

'When is he gonna stop with those nicknames?' Ayame sighed to herself before answering, "That is different from internal magic. My internal reserves are used up involuntarily, just the way adrenaline is pumped into your veins when you most need it." "So your reserves kick in without your control, something like the body's instinct to jerk your hand when you touch something hot…" Fai asked thoughtfully. "Exactly!" Ayame said, "It's a part of my body daily mechanism." "I don't understand any of this" Kurogane mumbled.

They finished all their chores and went to their rooms to sleep. But Ayame couldn't just close her eyes in peace – all the talk about magic had reminded her that she was in no position to use her abilities anymore. 'I cannot even heal anyone… how am I supposed to help bring Sakura to normal if can't even do what I'm supposed to be good at?' she asked herself. Healing used to be Ayame's specialty, but ever since that day, whenever she tried to use her magic, it kept going wrong, as though a fundamental element of it was missing – at least that's what Yukito had told her; _"It's like you have the power source, but you have lost the switch" _The bracelet her father gave her had countered the loss of her 'fundamental element', with that, she could use her magic minimally, but with that also gone, Ayame was at a loss to how she could use her power.

'The dimensional witch said I can still use my magic… but how?' _"You can use it, but you are too afraid too. You must decide."_ As the witch's voice rang in her head, Ayame just got more and more irritated; of course she was afraid! She didn't want anybody to bear the consequences of the gaps in her magical prowess. She clenched her eyes shut in frustration, racking her brain for an answer. _"My child, when you are unable to find a new path, try finding a new turn in the paths you have already travelled – the answers are always much simpler than you can imagine" _As her father's last words to her kept playing, an answer clicked in her head – a very simple and obvious answer. 'Why the hell didn't I think of this before?' It was as clear as daylight – her internal reserves!

'If I could just find a way to manipulate that… I should be able to find a way out!' Her eyes began to droop as her mind calmed down, finally finding an answer to the question that had been nudging her for years. 'I'll find a way soon…' she thought to herself happily as sleep rolled over her, whisking her away into the world of dreams and possibilities.

**XXX**

Ayame was up even before the sun the next morning. She had gone over to the little garden that Sorata and Arashi had maintained right behind the hotel. It was a very beautiful, with daisies and jasmines and lilacs. 'It's just so calm and peaceful here. Never expected to find a place like this in the heart of the bustling of Hanshin, its perfect' Ayame thought. She was meditating – she needed to examine her internal magic more carefully if she needed to find a way to constructively use it. As she delved deeper and deeper into her being, she finally found a way to use it, but there was a surprising trouble. 'If the others knew about it they will not like it at all…' Ayame thought as she sighed. "So, are you done now?" a cheerful voice chirped. Ayame's eyes flew open and she whipped around to see to whom the voice belonged to.

Fai was standing right behind her, holding a towel and a steaming mug. "You might want to dry off the dew drops," he said, holding out the towel, "You wouldn't want to catch a cold" "Ohh…" Ayame hadn't noticed that the sun had risen while she was meditating, because of which she was covered in dew. "And I thought you might like some coffee!" Fai said, giving her the mug. "Thank you" she said gratefully. Ayame hadn't noticed when the mage had crept up behind her. "You were really focused Tori-chan," Fai chirped, "I was standing here and watching you for almost half an hour, but you didn't notice me at all!" "Half an hour!" Ayame gasped. The fact that the mage had been looking at her for half an hour made her blush. "Well you could have said something!" Ayame said. "Nah… you looked so peaceful… I didn't want to disturb that" Fai said, which made her blush even more.

"It's a very beautiful place isn't it?" Fai said, taking in a deep breath, "It must be nice, to sit here in the morning…" "Why don't you sit down here now?" Ayame blurted out before she could stop herself. 'Why the hell did I just say that!?' she chastised herself, blushing again. Fai seemed genuinely surprised, so much that his smiling mask slipped off his face, shock lining his features. "I mean… it's still pretty early, so the others are not gonna be up for a while… so we can just chat for a while… if you want to" Ayame mumbled, the color in her face deepening with every word. 'What the hell is wrong with me? I don't mumble like this!' she thought. Then Fai did something she hadn't expected him to do – give her a genuine smile. Warmth radiated from him when smiled like that, which made Ayame feel happy as well. 'I wish he smiled like that more often,' she mused.

They sat there for quite some time, chatting about nothing in particular. They talked about how Sorata and Arashi made a cute couple, about kudans, about Mokona and Kurogane. They both burst out laughing as they discussed about how Kurogane was angered so easily. Ayame liked sitting there in the garden and talking to Fai, who seemed more carefree and cheerful… as in truly cheerful. Ever since she met him, Fai had seemed like he was carrying a very heavy burden, something that was almost crushing him. Seeing him at ease like this was a change, which she welcomed.

"So then Fai-san, tell me something about your home country… what kind of place is it?" Ayame asked as they both finished giggling on Kurogane's antics, but the moment she finished the sentence she regretted it. Fai's face suddenly grew stoic as he tensed up again, as though reminded of the burden he seemed to be carrying. Then he again, hid behind his mask of mock cheerfulness and said, "I guess that's a discussion for another time Tori-chan… I think I heard Kuro-puu waking up!" he chirped as he got up and walked towards the hotel again, without waiting for Ayame to catch up. 'Well, I guess that had to come to an end…' Ayame thought as slowly got up and walked towards the hotel as well, all the while thinking what she had said that made the mage so upset.

**XXX**

"As I thought, everyone doesn't walk around with their kudan out," Fai said looking around. Ayame, Syaoran, Fai and Kurogane were out in the streets of Hanshin again, trying to find a clue about Sakura's feather. "Even if we find the kudan which has the feather, will it give it up easily…?" Kurogane said. "It's gonna be a fight, that's for sure!" Ayame said in a matter of fact voice. Ayame glanced towards Fai, who was looking around like a tourist, a smile plastered on his face as always. The mage behaved as though their early morning conversation had never happened. Ayame was still wondering what had upset him.

"Hey, is something the matter?" Kurogane asked. 'How the hell did he know!?' "What could the matter be Kuro-sama?" Ayame teased him. But Kurogane didn't fall for it; he grabbed Ayame's upper arm and made her face him. Red eyes scrutinized the lilac ones as he said, "If something is the matter, I want you to tell me." The seriousness in Kurogane's voice surprised her – he always pretends to be aloof, but in reality, he observed every tiny detail, able to read into every expression. But for some reason, she didn't mind him reading into her mind. "Could it be that Kuro-sama actually cares?" she teased him again. "I don't know what you're talking about," Kurogane scowled and walked away… more like stomping.

Suddenly, out of the wall right next to her, a boy emerged. "AHHHHH!" Ayame screamed, startled and backed into Fai, who in turn stumbled into Kurogane, who lost his balance, because which all three of them fell down. "Oww…" Ayame said. "It hurts a bit but I don't mind this little arrangement," Fai said cheerfully, but with slight color on his cheeks. Ayame looked around at this comment and realized that she was practically sitting in his lap. Ayame felt her face heat up in an alarming rate, "I'm sorry! I'm so so so sorry!" she gasped as she jumped up. "He-he-he-he…" Fai laughed his cheeks still pink.

"GET OFF ME YOU MAGE!" Kurogane yelled. Instead of getting up, Fai wrapped his arms around Kurogane's neck and cooed, "I like being here with Kuro-sama!" A vein began throbbing in Kurogane's forehead as he picked up Fai like a sack of potatoes and threw him away from himself. "I SAID GET OFF ME!" He roared. Ayame, Fai and Mokona burst out laughing. Even Syaoran couldn't help but give a smile.

"I'm sorry," said a voice meekly. Ayame saw Masayoshi bowing down in apology. "Oh no-no Masayoshi-kun, don't apologize" Ayame said kindly. "How were you able to find where we were?" Fai asked. "My kudan lets me know where people I've met are" Masayoshi answered. "That's amazing!" Syaoran said as Mokona hopped onto Masayoshi's shoulder. "No… it's not that amazing…" Masayoshi said.

Suddenly, huge bird… well it looked like a bird, grabbed Masayoshi and flew away… along with Mokona who was perched on his shoulder. "SYAORAN-KUN… HELP!" "Masayoshi-kun!" Syaoran yelled. The bird-like thing flew off with all of them looking on helplessly. As they looked, a letter flew down, which Syaoran picked up and opened. As Ayame looked at the note over Syaoran's shoulder, she couldn't figure out anything that was written. "Can you read what is written Syaoran?" Ayame asked, perplexed. "Yes. It says 'Meet you at the Hanshin Palace'" Syaoran said.

"Did you hear that Fai-san, Kurogane-san. They were taken to the Hanshin Palace… we have to get there…" "Beh ... questa è una nota interessante ..." Fai said. "Ittai nani kore no imidesu … Sore wa nan to itte imasu …?" Kurogane growled. "What the hell are you guys saying!?" Ayame asked, perplexed, "Syaoran, you can understand what I'm saying right?" "Yes Ayame-san… but I can't understand what Fai-san and Kurogane-san are saying," Syaoran said. "Non riesco a dare un senso a quello che state dicendo ... non c'è niente di sbagliato con le mie orecchie ..." Fai said. "Ittai nani ga okotte iru?" Kurogane said, wriggling his ears. "I can't make sense of anything they are saying Ayame-san…" Syaoran said, worried. "Same here Syaoran… but why…? Nothing is different than before…" All four of them, were in deep thought when it struck them all together, "Mokona!" they all exclaimed together.

As the group followed the signs and made their way to the palace, Ayame kept chastising herself; why didn't she see this situation coming? 'We all come from different worlds… it's obvious that we will speak in different languages! If we don't find Mokona, we will be in big trouble' she thought. They reached the palace in a matter of minutes. The palace was a lot taller than Ayame expected it to be… and right at the top were Masayoshi and Mokona. "Thank goodness!" Ayame sighed in relief. "There they are!" Fai said, waving. "They look like they are happy, well at least the pork bun is…" Kurogane said. "Hey…" Syaoran said. "We can understand each other!" Ayame exclaimed, relieved.

They all began running towards the castle at full speed. "It was Mokona after all!" Syaoran said. "Hey…! That means if we get separated from Mokona again, we won't understand each other?" Kurogane asked. "Looks like it" Fai chirped. "THAT'S SO ANNOYING!" Kurogane roared. As they reached the bottom of the tower, Ayame was taken aback by the number of people who had gathered there. "Why are so many people here?" Ayame wondered. "Excuse me!" Syaoran went up to the crowd fearlessly, "Can anyone tell me who wrote this letter?" 'As focused as ever,' Ayame thought with a smile.

"I did!" answered a musical voice. As Ayame followed the voice, she saw it came from a pretty, green haired girl. "PRIMERA-CHAN!" chorused all the men who had gathered there. "Well at least we are saved the trouble from asking her name" Ayame said, amused. But Kurogane was not, "Who is this woman?" he growled in annoyance. His question was answered by a chorus of boos; the noise was so loud that Ayame had to plug her ears. "Why is it always me?" Kurogane mumbled.

"Please let Mokona and Masayoshi-kun go!" Syaoran yelled out to Primera. "Heh…? Isn't that one Syaoran?" Primera asked, confused. 'Jeez… not that again…" Ayame mentally facepalmed. "I'm Syaoran!" Syaoran exclaimed. Primera got really angry at this, "FOOLS! YOU IDIOTS GOT THE WRONG PERSON!" she yelled at the men who were with her. "If I'm the person you're looking for, please let those two go!" Syaoran said. "Nope!" Primera said cheerfully, hopping from the viewing balcony on to the roof, "If you want them back, you have to fight me first!" "This is just perfect…" Ayame said sarcastically, "You are getting a reputation now Syaoran…"

"Don't worry about this guys… I got this" Fai said, a smile lighting up his face, "I'll fight her" Before anybody could protest, Fai walked a little ahead. Ayame could feel the energy around him increase, just the way as it had with Kurogane. The energy manifested itself in the form of a huge, green, four-winged bird. "Amazing!" Ayame gasped as the kudan simmered, then disappeared, the energy now enveloping Fai and carrying him all the way to the top. "He can fly! I can't even do that!" Primera pouted, as Fai did cartwheels in mid-air. 'Show-off,' Ayame smiled. "Come out kudan!" Primera sang. 'Her voice is beautiful,' Ayame thought. Her kudan manifested in the form of a microphone. "What kind of a kudan is that?" Kurogane said, not at all impressed. "We'll see soon enough…" Ayame said.

"Everyone!" Primera sang into her microphone, which magnified her voice, "CHECK THIS OUT!" As she sang, the words floated out of her microphone, which flew towards Fai and exploded. "Fai-san!" Syaoran yelled. "Don't fret Syaoran… look…" Ayame said. The moment she said the words, Fai emerged from the cloud created by the explosion, completely unscathed. "That's also a kudan? This country is really amazing!" Fai said.

Primera is just pouted like a little child, "No! I WON'T LOSE! NO FAIR! STOP DODGING!" Primera yelled into her microphone, but Fai kept dodging. "Why? I keep missing!" Primera whined like a child. "If I let your kudan hit me… it would hurt a lot!" Fai said with a smile. This comment only angered Primera, who sent a wholly of attacks on him. "I have to get up there to help!" Syaoran said. "He'll be fine" Ayame said. She didn't know how she knew, she just knew. "The kudan is only helping him fly," Kurogane said, "The one who is dodging the attacks is him" "Makes sense…" Ayame said; she had been in enough battles to know how a trained fighter moves. "Yeah… that doesn't surprise me – I can see from his movements and also… you can feel the power when you look into his eyes…" Syaoran whispered, as his eyes tuned on Fai.

As Ayame watched Fai fight, she couldn't help but be amazed with the ease he dodged Primera's attacks – it was obvious that he had formal battle training. But what puzzled her was the fact that Fai never attacked back, he only kept dodging and defending himself. 'Why is he not attacking back…?' By this time, Primera modified her kudan to a stand microphone. Ayame detected a spike in power. 'It's gotten even more powerful!' Ayame thought. Primera attacked again, but the increased power caught Fai off guard, sending him crashing into a tree. "Fai-san!" Syaoran yelled. But there was no movement.

"Stop messing around Fai-san…" Ayame yelled, but panic began to build up in her. She was just about to run to check up on the mage, when a hand poked up, "As you say Tori-chan!" he chirped. "Mokona didn't react to the kudan, so it means the feather is not in Primera-chan's kudan…" Fai said with a determined smile, "So it's time to end this then…" 'That explains why he wasn't going on the offense… but I have a feeling there is more to it than that…' Ayame thought. "If that's what you want… then…" Primera smiled back, "YOU HAVE TO BEAT ME FIRST!" she screamed into her microphone with full force. As the words flew towards Fai, he skipped over them as if they were a road paved for him and landed right on top of her. "I don't want to hurt such a cute girl!" he said, "So… can you please stop fighting?" Primera seemed to calm down under his gaze, "Oh… ok…" 'Let me correct myself – show-off AND flirt,' Ayame smiled to herself.

But the smile turned into a frown as she detected the same presence as she had the day before – the one that was about to silently attack Syaoran; this time directed at Fai. Ayame raised her energy levels and created a force field around Fai; soon enough, an invisible attack rammed against it. 'I'm not going to let you go this time…' Ayame thought as she extended her senses to find the assailant. She was almost about to give up when she finally locked on to the presence. "Come out you coward!" she yelled as she shot a bolt of lightning out of her hand in the direction of the presence, startling everyone around her.

The assailant deflected the attack, but was forced to reveal himself, coming into view of everyone who was gathered there. It was a man, as old as Kurogane, with brown hair and eyes, with a mischievous smile on his face. He was standing on the back of a huge falcon, which Ayame assumed to be his kudan. "I'm impressed!" he said, his glasses flashing in the sunlight, "You managed to deflect my attack twice and also forced me to reveal myself… No one has ever done that" "Well I guess you met someone who is your match," Ayame smirked, oblivious to the surprised faces of her companions. She could taste a battle, and in reaction to her excitement, the air around her began to cackle with electricity.

"Seiichiro-san! I'm sorry I couldn't win…!" Primera said. Seiichiro gave her a kind smile, "Its ok Primera-chan, I'll take it from here... and my opponent is going to be you" he said, pointing at Ayame. "Well bring it on!" Ayame said, "It's my turn to show-off!"

**XXX**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

** New chapter! Yaaaaayyy! I had a lot of fun writing this one, especially the little Ayame-Fai scene; I hope you guys had fun reading it. And yes, the mysterious assailant is Seiichiro Aoki from X/1999 :D I bet you guys didn't expect that! *grins* I guarantee that Seiichiro vs. Ayame is going to be very exciting, so stay tuned for the next chapter! **

** Thank you to all who have followed the fic so far – it's your support that inspires me to write more. Also, please review, it really helps a lot! If you guys have any questions, please feel free to PM me… I always reply ;)**

** Until the next time!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Not just a Pretty Face

'What the hell is going on here?' Fai was completely puzzled over all the things that happened in the last few minutes, which was a new thing for him – he wasn't used to be taken by surprise. "Primera-chan…" Fai asked the petite girl who was sitting next to him, "Who is the guy with the falcon kudan?" "That's Seiichiro-san, he is next in command after Shougo-kun," she answered, "He's really kind, but when he senses a strong kudan user, he just can't help but challenge them. It was his idea really, to capture Syaoran-kun and everything… but now I realize he did all that just to fight with that girl" she pouted. 'Strong kudan user…. And Ayame-chan!? There has to be a mistake…' Fai thought as he flew back down to where his fellow travelers were. Kurogane and Syaoran looked just as confused as he was – they were all looking at Ayame for answers.

"Do you know him Ayame-san?" Syaoran said. "Yes and no…" Ayame answered. "What's that supposed to mean?" Kurogane asked, his fists clenched. Fai could see that the ninja didn't like some cocky guy challenge the crown princess… but what surprised Fai more was that he mirrored the same feeling. "I don't exactly know who he is, but I know his presence…" Ayame explained, her eyes still trained on Seiichiro, "He had tried to attack Syaoran yesterday… and was about to attack Fai-san right now."

Fai's eyebrows shot up in surprise, he hadn't sensed any attack directed towards him! "How did you sense it Tori-chan?" Fai asked, seriously curious as to how she had sensed something that slipped out of his own keen senses. "That is something even I would like to know... not even Shougo has been able to anticipate my moves, how did someone with such a pretty face do it?" Seiichiro asked with a wicked smile, his curious brown eyes observing Ayame. "Well I guess I'm more than a pretty face… Seiichiro-san" Ayame replied, with an equally wicked smile, her lilac eyes twinkling with excitement, "Want to see a few tricks?" "It would be honor" Seiichiro said, bowing deeply.

'She can't fight!' Fai thought, concern building up. He looked over to Kurogane and Syaoran, hoping that they would protest, but to his surprise they seemed comfortable to send her to fight. "Come back in one piece, do you hear me?" Kurogane growled. Ayame grinned, "Sure thing Kuro-puu" "All the best Ayame-san" Syaoran said with a smile. "Thanks Syaoran" Ayame winked as she stepped forward. Fai was shocked, 'How can they let her go like that! Is it possible… that I made a mistake in judging her?' he thought.

The smell of ozone brought Fai back to earth, shaking him out of his reverie. The air around Ayame began to sizzle and cackle as she summoned her kudan. Fai felt the waves of energy leap out her and manifest itself in the form a huge, beautiful Pegasus. The kudan neighed and impatiently beat its hooves, sending sparks everywhere, but they didn't seem to bother Ayame who nuzzled its nose. Everyone looked at the kudan with wide eyes including Fai; he had rarely seen such an elaborate display of power. "That's a special kudan, the top class," Seiichiro said, "I'm impressed!" "Told you I'm not just a pretty face" Ayame said, smiling mischievously.

"Now that we have shown our true powers, let's begin!" as soon as he said this, Seiichiro's kudan simmered and disappeared, reappearing in his hand in the form of a katana, whose blade seemed to be made of the wind itself. "Close range combat shouldn't be a problem right?" Seiichiro teased. "A problem you say…" Ayame grinned as she extended both her arms to her side; the Pegasus simmered and disappeared as well. The winds gathered around her and lifted her up into the air till she was at level to where Seiichiro was standing. Electricity cackled around her hands as a curved blade appeared in each hand. "I prefer close range combat!" Ayame finished, twirling the blades in her hands.

"What kind of blades are those?" Kurogane asked; his eyes narrowed. "You don't have swords like that in your country Kurogane-san?" Syaoran asked in return. When Kurogane shook his head, Syaoran continued, "It's called a scimitar. Only the most skilled swordsmen in Clow are allowed to carry one" "But Tori-chan has two…" Fai said, amazed. "That's because Ayame-san is the most skilled warrior in the entire country of Clow!" Syaoran said.

Fai's eyes widened in surprise; the girl whom he saw that morning, covered in dew and meditating so peacefully, was the fiercest warrior in the country! "Ayame-san is the Lord Commander of the Clow army and the head of the Royal Intelligence Council along with being the Royal Advisor to the King…" Syaoran continued. "That's… amazing!" Fai whispered. 'I made a serious mistake in evaluating her…'

Ayame and Seiichiro went head-on; their blades clashing which sent a clap of thunder across the sky. They both were thrown back by the impact. "You're good, Miss Pretty Face!" Seiichiro teased, wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead. Ayame grinned, "You're not half-bad either" Seiichiro charged and thrust his sword right at her, which she deflected with ease with the blade in the right hand, bringing down the blade on her left hand simultaneously. Seiichiro dodged it with a fluid movement and without even wasting a single breath, turned around gave an impressive side kick. Ayame ducked to dodge – that exact moment Seiichiro decided to swing his sword again which did catch Ayame by surprise, but she was quick and did a back flip.

As the duo attacked, dodged, kicked and slashed, Fai was awestruck by the grace and agility the princess showed… and also, he admitted with a little difficulty – afraid of the deadliness of each blow she gave Seiichiro. "Let's end this!" Seiichiro said, lifting his katana. The winds gathered around it, forming a gale around it. "Dodge this Miss Pretty Face," he said with a smirk, throwing the gale at Ayame. As the gale completely engulfed the princess, Fai found himself panicking. 'Get out of there Tori-chan… please, please be alright…' he found himself begging. Next to him, Kurogane clenched his fists in frustration while Syaoran yelled, "AYAME-SAN!"

Seiichiro had a triumphant grin on his face, but it turned to surprise when sparks began to buzz out of the gale. "How the…?" he whispered as a figure shot out of the gale with incredible speed, so fast that the blades it was carrying seemed like bolts of lightning. "Guess I passed that test too," Ayame said, holding one scimitar to Seiichiro's neck while holding the other scimitar to the wrist of the hand which was holding the katana. Seiichiro's eyes were first widened in shock, but then his face eased into a smile. "Wow… you are amazing! I yield…" he grinned as the katana in his hand melted away. Ayame held a triumphant smile as she relaxed, her scimitars melting away as well, "It was good fight!"

Then suddenly, Seiichiro grabbed Ayame's hands and leaned forward, a little too close for comfort. "I really did have a lot of fun, Miss Pretty Face," he said to a shell-shocked Ayame. To Fai's surprise, anger flared through his veins the moment Seiichiro leaned close to Ayame; but he wasn't the only one. "What the hell does that guy think he is doing!?" Kurogane growled cracking his knuckles menacingly; while Syaoran looked on with his eyes narrowed. 'They both sure are protective,' Fai chuckled to himself; refusing to accept his own protective instinct.

But before anyone could react, a shout startled them all – "SEIICHIRO AOKI! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?" The shout came from a woman who was standing on the back of a phoenix, with pink hair and striking yellow eyes, wearing a black dress so short that it even made Fai blush. "K-K-Karen!" Seiichiro stuttered falling back. He then gave a shaky laugh and said, "Hey Karen! How come you're here now? We were supposed to meet an hour la – AHHHHHHHH!" he screamed as a ball of fire came flying at him. "You flirting little jerk!" Karen yelled, another ball of fire dancing on her fingertips.

"Uhh… I'm sorry if I offended you…" Ayame said in a small voice, holding her hands up in peace. If Karen had been furious, it didn't show as she gave Ayame a warm smile, "Oh no my dear, I know you're not to blame. I'm Karen Kasumi" she said. "My girlfriend!" Seiichiro ventured, but Karen just got angry again and hurled another fireball at him, "It will do you better to remember that before you flirt with another girl!" she yelled. Seiichiro deflected the fireball, which ended up landing on the roof of the palace. "AHHHHHHHH!" the screams reminded Fai that Masayoshi, Primera and Mokona were still on the palace roof. All three of them came tumbling down. "Watch out!" Ayame yelled.

Fai was about to summon his kudan to help them, but before he could react, a stingray caught all of them before they fell. "What do you think you all are doing?" Shougo said, clearly annoyed at all this mess. "Shougo-kun!" Primera exclaimed, her voice ringing with surprise, as Masayoshi cried in happiness, his kudan hugging him. "This was your idea, wasn't it Seiichiro?" Shougo asked, annoyed. "He-he-he-he…." Seiichiro grinned while Karen just hovered next to him, still annoyed.

Fai couldn't help feel confused about the entire mess up, but that didn't stop him from pondering over the kudan battle that had just taken place. He had not even in his wildest dreams thought that Ayame was warrior. The princess landed right next to him, a gentle smile on her face as she watched Shougo and Primera bicker… Fai couldn't exactly process the fact that just a few minutes ago, that same face had sported a devilish grin.

"Syaoran! Tori-chan!" Mokona called out. "Mokona! Those eyes!" Syaoran exclaimed. Mokona's eyes were wide open. 'A feather is nearby…' Fai realized. "Who has the feather Mokona?" Ayame yelled. "I don't know, but I felt a strong presence just now!" Mokona answered. "I think it's inside a kudan…" Fai said. "But what does it mean when the presence changes?" Kurogane asked with a frown. "Sorata-chan told me that a kudan is made to protect somebody…" Syaoran said thoughtfully, "So it's strongest when it's protecting…" 'He has a lot of insight, a quality not so common for his age…' Fai observed. "This means… we have to fight!" Ayame concluded.

"It's true that I did like you…" Shougo said, looking at Syaoran as his kudan gently placed Primera, Masayoshi and Mokona on the palace's viewing balcony, "You are strong, not in your fist… but in your heart. That is why I wanted to fight you with kudans" Fai saw a sincere curiosity shine in the man's eyes, 'It would be unfortunate if his kudan has the feather…' he thought. Fai felt a stir of power – Syaoran was summoning his kudan.

Flames began to surround the boy and they kept swirling till they solidified to form a wolf. Syaoran placed a hand on the kudan and said, "I accept your request" 'Won't expect anything less from him…' Fai smiled to himself. Syaoran's straight forwardness and honesty always made Fai smile – it was rare to find someone like him. "Be careful Syaoran…" Ayame said; concern etched in her face. Syaoran gave her a reassuring smile as he stepped forward.

"Ready?" Shougo asked, when Syaoran nodded his head, he lifted his hand and yelled, "GO!" The kudan didn't even waste a single second and shot a water beam at Syaoran. Syaoran jumped to dodge; the beam hit the spot where was standing just moments ago. Debris came tumbling down on him, which Syaoran got rid of with an impressive kick. "Atta boy!" Ayame cheered while Fai did his best to keep his smiling mask on. 'This boy is something… that kick was not a fluke…' Fai thought. "He's not just a handsome brat, huh…" Kurogane said, impressed as well. "Mokona how's the presence of the feather?" Syaoran asked. "I can feel it, but it's not enough" the little one replied.

'That's odd… I was almost sure that the feather will be in Shougo-kun's kudan…' Fai thought, but a familiar… yet unfamiliar presence diverted his attention from the fight. His magical senses felt a light nudge from another magic source. Fai closed his eyes and extended his own sphere of influence as he searched for the source. A scent of lavender flowers came at full blast when he finally found the source – it was Ayame. Fai's eyes snapped open to find the princess's eyes closed in concentration. 'She's… she's searching for something…' Fai realized.

Fai just gave a light prod at her magical source, curious as to how powerful the princess was. What he found shocked him – Ayame's magic was like a vast ocean, with currents twisting and turning from years of stagnation. 'It… it almost matches mine!' But there was something different about it as well… it was soothing and comforting – Fai had never felt anything like it. Consumed by peace and serenity after feeling Ayame's magic, Fai slowly opened his eyes to find her looking at him, with a gentle smile on her face.

"SYAORAN-KUN!" Masayoshi's screams reminded both the magicians that a kudan fight was in progress. Fai saw that Shougo had flooded most of the area with water and, he realized with a jolt, that Syaoran had disappeared beneath the waves. "He's absolutely fine…" Ayame said. At that moment, a ball of fire emerged from the water… with Syaoran inside it. 'How did she know…?' Fai thought, looking over at Ayame.

But instead of watching the fight, the crown princess was looking at Masayoshi and his kudan at the top of the tower. "We are fighting the wrong kudan…" she said, a slight frown on her face, "His kudan has the feather, not Shougo's…" "What makes you say that… even the manju-bun doesn't know," Kurogane said, his eyes narrowing. "I sensed it with my magic…" she said quietly, not willing to explain further.

The palace began to crumble, not able to withstand all the kudan action, half the roof falling on Masayoshi, Primera and Mokona. Seiichiro and Karen rushed over to help, but were thrown back as Masayoshi's kudan grew in size – it grew so huge that it was taller than the Hanshin palace itself. "How the hell…" Fai whispered as he saw the huge kudan pick up Masayoshi in its huge hands. "Syaoran! Syaoran! The feather is here! In this kudan!" Mokona exclaimed, eyes wide open.

'She's right… again…' Fai thought. The enlarged kudan began shooting out energy beams from its mouth, which destroyed what remained of Hanshin palace, sending Primera and Mokona tumbling down. But before they could be harmed, Shougo caught Primera, bridal style. "I'm ok now, so return to normal" Masayoshi yelled at his kudan, but the kudan paid him no heed and kept randomly shooting energy beams. "What's up with him?" Kurogane asked as the kudan kept wreaking havoc. "The feather's power is too strong, so he can't control his kudan" Fai answered, his eyes assessing all the damage. "What are you gonna do kid?" Kurogane asked Syaoran, who had landed next to him.

"I'm going to get the feather back" Syaoran said, his face stern. "How are you gonna fight with that big one? You can die…!" Kurogane growled at him. Syaoran slowly turned to face him, his eyes burning with determination, "I won't die" he said calmly, "Since I still have something to do… I won't die." Saying this, Syaoran flew off towards Masayoshi's kudan.

As Fai watched the boy fly away, he couldn't help but feel a little sad for himself. He admired Syaoran's sincerity, honesty, straight-forwardness, determination… but the quality he admired the most was his bravery. Syaoran was extremely brave and courageous, never hesitating to do what was needed to be done and at the same time, to do what was right. Just like a sacred flame which burnt away all evil and kept alive only the good – a flame that always kept burning with zeal and determination. Fai wished he was more like Syaoran, 'If I was, the boy on top of the tower… and the king asleep beneath water… both would have been unharmed…'

It was no wonder Fai got the kudan of the air, he had always run away from his troubles, always unstable; just like the currents of the wind. Always moving, always shifting… and unreliable – that is the wind; that is Fai. "Syaoran is strong in many ways…" Fai said out loud, trying his best to keep a smile on his face, "I understand why he got the fire kudan… and why I got the air kudan."

"STOP! STOP IT!" Masayoshi yelled at his kudan, but it refused to stop, leaving destruction at its wake. Syaoran created a few explosions in the kudan's path, which halted it momentarily. "Masayoshi-kun," Syaoran said quietly, "Remember when I told you that I was looking for something? That… that something is in your kudan… and I need to get it back…" "Take it Syaoran-kun," the boy replied bravely, "But please be careful, my kudan might hurt you if you get close!"

Syaoran, without any hesitation, dived straight at the kudan's heart, but was thrown back. "And that's my cue!" Ayame said as she summoned her kudan for the second time. "Tori-chan…" Fai began, but before he could say anything, she flew off towards Syaoran. 'How does she intend to fight that?! This is crazy!' he thought. "Relax" Kurogane said, startling Fai, "She's gonna be fine… well, she better be…" he added with a small hint of desperation in his voice.

"Syaoran!" Ayame called out as Syaoran was about to dive again. "Ayame-san… I have to…!" Syaoran began but Ayame cut him short. "Yes, yes my boy, I know; you have to get Sakura's feather. I'm not stopping you, just lending a hand" Saying this, Ayame created an electric force-field around Syaoran and his kudan, "Now you won't get hurt and you won't be thrown back" she said with a wink. Syaoran just nodded and dove to the heart of the kudan again. But this time, with his fire AND Ayame's barrier protecting him, Syaoran penetrated the kudan with ease, reaching deeper and deeper, slowly and steadily.

Just as everything seemed to be going alright, Masayoshi uttered a cry of pain, "Ah, its hot!" he cried out, clutching his chest. At this Syaoran hesitated. 'Still the righteous one isn't he?' Fai smiled. "Get what you're searching for! I'm ok… even if it hurts!" Masayoshi told Syaoran, tears streaming from his eyes. "But Masayoshi-kun…" Syaoran whispered, worry lining his face. "Go ahead Syaoran" Ayame said, surprising everyone, "I got this." With this, she went next to Masayoshi and held his hands, "It's gonna be alright," she said with a warm smile, "Everything will be alright." Her hands began to emit a gentle glow which surrounded Masayoshi. "Get it now Syaoran!" Ayame called out. Syaoran went ahead without any hesitation.

Fai expected Masayoshi to cry out in pain again, but – to his great surprise – Masayoshi remained completely calm; he had even stopped crying. As Syaoran got closer and closer, the glow around Ayame and Masayoshi increased in intensity, till everyone felt it. "It feels so peaceful…!" Primera sighed, standing next to Shougo, who had landed near Fai and Kurogane. Fai felt a sense of peace too, exactly like… exactly like when he had nudged Ayame's magic! 'She's not using her kudan… she's using her magic!' It took all of Fai's self-control to stop himself from gasping out loud. How she had found a way to use her magic, he didn't know; but a gut feeling told him that the side effects were going to be anything but pleasant.

Syaoran finally managed to get close enough and grab the feather. As he clasped his fingers around it, Masayoshi's kudan got smaller and smaller till it reached its normal size. Syaoran's wolf kudan caught Syaoran and Ayame's Pegasus caught Masayoshi and his kudan before they could crash into the ground. There were flames everywhere, but before they could spread, Shougo and Seiichiro doused the flames with their kudans.

Syaoran landed softly and slowly opened his palm. Sitting on it was a delicate, white feather with a pink, heart-shaped design on it. Relief and happiness shone in his face as looked at the memory fragment. Ayame landed next to him and when she saw the feather, she affectionately ruffled the boy's hair. Giving him a broad smile, she said, "You did it Syaoran! You retrieved one of Sakura's feathers!" "No Ayame-san," Syaoran said, returning her smile, "We did it… together!"

Fai watched as the crown princess nudged and teased Syaoran, and then went over to Masayoshi to check if he was alright. She looked so gentle and kind; so beautiful. And then he remembered how fierce she looked when she was fighting Seiichiro; so deadly. Fai understood why she got the lightening kudan – Ayame was a calm and beautiful person, but when instigated, she turned deadly. 'Just like lightening – beautiful to look at, but not to be provoked' Fai concluded, smiling to himself.

**XXX**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

** Chapter #7! I hope you guys liked it, it was the most difficult chapter yet. From here on, most of the chapters will be centered on Ayame, Kurogane and Fai, but I might throw a Syaoran here and there… maybe a Sakura too… I haven't decided yet :P**

** Also, I know Seiichiro and Karen are a bit OOC-ish… maybe completely OOC, but I figured that since it's a different world, their behavior and personalities will be a little different. DO let me know what you think. Please review, this story is actually hasn't had a beta reader, so reviews are of utmost importance!**

** Feel free to PM me if you guys have any questions. Until the next update, Ciao! :D **


	8. Chapter 8 - Consequences

"You're back, Syaoran!" Sorata greeted. Syaoran just gave a slight wave of acknowledgment as he ran past the couple who were cleaning their front yard. "Heh…? Why is he in so much of a hurry?" Sorata asked Ayame as she too sprinted in. "We found one of Sakura's feathers!" she chirped. But she didn't wait to see Sorata's reaction; she ran into the hotel and climbed up the stairs, two at a time. Syaoran was already kneeling down next to Sakura when Ayame entered the room. As Ayame watched, Syaoran gently placed the feather on Sakura's chest, which absorbed it instantly. 'Please wake up Sakura…' Ayame pleaded, as Syaoran grasped Sakura's hand, equally desperate.

Ayame's breath got stuck in her throat as Sakura slowly opened her eyes, her gaze falling on Syaoran. "Sakura!" Syaoran gasped, relief flooding his face. 'Oh thank the heavens!' Ayame thought to herself as she began to make her way towards her sister, but Sakura's next words made her stop right in her tracks with shock. "Who… are you…?" she asked; her eyes innocently curious as she looked at Syaoran, who was still holding her hand.

Ayame felt as though the ground beneath her feet had been taken away… she didn't remember him! Her most important person! Ayame's heart went out to Syaoran as she watched pain replace relief in his eyes as he slowly placed Sakura's hand down. 'I feel so lost… I cannot even begin to imagine what's going through him right now…' she thought. Rain began pattering the window as Ayame watched the boy struggle with his emotions, feeling utterly helpless. Miraculously, Syaoran regained his composure and gave Sakura a warm smile. "I'm Syaoran, and you're Sakura-hime," he said, his hands shaking a little.

Ayame knew that it was just a matter of few seconds before Syaoran would break down. She sat down next to him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, signaling him to leave. "Listen to me very carefully Sakura," Ayame began as Syaoran quietly got up and left the room, "You are a princess of another world. Right now you are missing memories. To get them back, we are now travelling between worlds." "Me alone?" Sakura asked, slight fear flickering in her eyes. "No!" Ayame said, gently taking one of Sakura's hands in hers, "Syaoran is travelling with you, so am I"

"You're… you're my Onae-chan… aren't you?" Sakura said softly as her emerald eyes bore into Ayame's lilac ones. Happiness went through Ayame like a current the moment Sakura uttered those words. "Yes… Sakura… I am your Onae-chan!" she sighed with relief, tears pouring out of her eyes. "Please don't cry… I'm absolutely fine now… Onae-chan," Sakura said with a smile, wiping the tears off Ayame's cheeks.

"Don't forget us you know!" Fai chirped as he walked into the room carrying Mokona, with Kurogane a few paces behind him. "Ah yes… these people are travelling with us as well!" Ayame told a curious Sakura. "My name is Fai. D. Fluorite," Fai said with a bow. 'Always up to theatrics aren't you?' she thought as Fai introduced Kurogane and Mokona. Sakura immediately took a liking to Mokona and began playing with her.

Ayame left Sakura to play with Mokona and went over to the window. With a heavy heart she saw Syaoran standing outside in the rain, obviously crying. She couldn't even begin to fathom how painful it must have been for him when Sakura looked at him with the eyes of a stranger. 'She's never going to remember him…' she sighed to herself as she remembered the price Syaoran had to pay at start of the journey. Ayame felt selfish for feeling happy that Sakura remembered her. 'She recollects who I am, but at what cost? It's just not fair that she gets to remember everyone but him…'

"I thought he would start crying, right then…" Fai said, as he came and stood next to Ayame. "He is crying right now…" she whispered. "He doesn't have the time to cry right now… all he has to do now is look forward, no matter what happens…" Kurogane said quietly, standing near the window as well. "That's true Kurogane-san, but…" Ayame said, her eyes filling up with tears again, but this time for the pain that Syaoran was going through, "Crying when you need to cry is another way to show strength"

**XXX**

'It's hot… why is it so hot…?' Ayame thought to herself, half asleep. The sudden rise in temperature kept disturbing her. Then, when the heat combined with pain, she woke up with a start. As the last traces of sleep left her, Ayame realized that the heat and pain radiated from her chest, exactly where heart was. 'So this is what happens huh…' she thought, clutching her chest. It was painful, as though someone puncturing her heart with a hot iron rod. She got up quietly so as to not disturb Fai and Kurogane, who were sleeping on either side, and went to the bathroom. As she washed her face with cold water, Ayame noticed with a jolt, that the water tainted was with red. When she looked into the mirror, Ayame watched as the gash beneath her left eye opened up completely, sending trickles of blood down her cheek.

'Now this is unexpected… it had healed completely...' she thought to herself as she wiped the blood off her cheek and washed the re-opened cut with water. 'I just used a fraction and the side-effects are showing up… well, I guess I just have to bear with it then…' she told herself as put a small band-aid over the gash. 'I just hope no one else notices…' Ayame wasn't going to back out if it even killed her… and the last thing she wanted was for someone to fuss over her.

**XXX**

"So you are leaving?" Sorata said looking at everyone, crestfallen. All of them had changed back to their original clothes. Kurogane was glad to be back in his entire ninja get up. He really didn't like the clothes he had to wear in this world. Ayame walked out with an extremely lost-looking Sakura, who kept rubbing her eyes. 'Geez, she looks like she will fly away with a gust of wind. How can somebody be so damn delicate…?'

His gaze then landed on the crown princess. He frowned slightly as he noticed the bandage below her left eye. 'She didn't get a cut there in yesterday's fight… why the bandage…?' Kurogane knew something was off about the whole stunt Ayame had pulled off regarding Masayoshi. As Kurogane observed her, he saw there were moments when she winced slightly and clutched her chest. 'That confirms it, something is definitely not right here…' Kurogane decided to confront her as soon as he got a chance, but deep down inside, he knew Ayame won't give him answers, 'She will be stubborn… she always has been…'

"Are you alright?" Fai asked Sakura with a kind smile. "Yeah… I just feel a bit sleepy…" she replied, giving a small smile. Syaoran was standing just a little away from the younger princess, smiling; but Kurogane could see the pain and sadness in his eyes. The boy had impressed him immensely – the way he had held is composure when the princess treated him as a stranger and also, the way he had found the strength to cry created a certain respect in Kurogane's eyes for Syaoran. "Don't look down!" he said, startling Syaoran. "If you have something you must do," he continued, "then look forward!" Syaoran looked surprised for a moment, but then, a fire burned in his eyes. "Yes!" he said.

Mokona floated up in the air and wings sprouted out of her back. Winds began gathering around them just as it had in Yuuko's shop. 'I can never get used to this crap,' Kurogane thought as the ground beneath them began to melt. Final goodbyes were said as the fabric of space and time engulfed them and they were back in the inter-dimensional space, floating towards their next destination.

'_It's time for me to take my leave now, Kurogane' _a voice spoke in his head, a voice which he recognized to be his kudan's. 'I guess you expect me to thank you for the help,' he smirked at the silver-blue dragon which was hovering next to him. _'I wasn't expecting thanks from you,' _the kudan chuckled, _'Helping you was my duty. But now, I have to leave. Remember, stay true to yourself and your emotions. Your heart will show you the way' _'What the hell was that supposed to mean?' Kurogane growled, but the kudan disappeared without giving an answer.

Kurogane momentarily forgot about his annoyance when he suddenly felt gravity's pull again. He and his fellow travelers plummeted down and crash landed right into what seemed to be a vegetable cart. Kurogane was just about to get up when another body slammed into him. "Owww…" Ayame sat up rubbing the back of her head, unaware of the fact that she was on top of Kurogane. "Where are we?" she mumbled looking around. "Well maybe I would be able to answer that if you would get off me" Kurogane said gruffly. "Heeeehhhh….! Oh my gosh Kurogane-san I'm so sorry!" Ayame squealed as she scrambled away from him.

Kurogane got up to see that everyone in the market place was staring at them. He didn't blame them, if anybody fell into a vegetable cart from the sky in his town, he would stare too. The world they had landed seemed a lot like Nihon, but not quite – the way people dressed, the layout of the castle in the center of the town was different, he noted grumpily. 'Of course it wasn't going to be so easy…' he thought, 'Damn that witch'

"Who the hell are you?" said an arrogant voice. Kurogane turned around to see a man with an unusually large built looking at the younger princess menacingly. Ayame quickly was on her guard, but what caught Kurogane's attention was the lack of movement from the boy, who was to left side of the princess. 'That's odd…' Kurogane thought.

"ANSWER ME! Where did you come from?" the man continued, but this time grabbing Sakura's arm. Almost immediately, Syaoran jumped into action, delivering an impressive kick which landed right on the man's face. As the man stumbled back, Syaoran took a protective stance in front of the princess while Ayame dashed forward, delivering an accurately aimed punch to the nose. "Heh… serves him right," Kurogane smirked while Fai and Mokona cheered. "Do both of you realize who I am!?" the man roared in a nasal voice, trying to stop the steady trickle of blood from his broken nose.

But before anybody could retort, a voice yelled, "STOP! Don't mess around with people you don't know you dumbass!" Kurogane followed the man's gaze and saw the voice belonged to a young girl. 'Very spirited of her…' Kurogane thought. "CHUNHYANG!" the man roared in annoyance, "WHO DID YOU JUST CALL DUMB!?" "Besides you… who else is dumb around here?" the girl replied back. "How dare you!? I am the son of the Ryanban, ruler of Koryo!" "Even though he is the Ryanban, he was just a homeless magician one year ago!" Chunhyang yelled back.

This annoyed the man even more, "How dare you say something like that about my aboji!" he yelled, quivering with anger, "You should know what happen if you say something against the Ryanban!" At this, Chunhyang bit her lip, tears threatening to well up in her eyes. "I will come back for revenge…! So watch out!" the man yelled before turning his back and fleeing in the direction of the castle. 'Geez… what the hell have we all gotten ourselves into this time…' He was irritated by the whole scene – all he wanted was to go back home; how complicated was that?

"Ohhh Kuro-pin! Help pick these up!" Fai chirped, pointing at the fallen vegetables. Kurogane felt as though somebody had thrown a grain sack on him. "MY NAME IS KUROGANE!" he roared as he stomped to where the mage was standing. "Hahahahaha… lighten up Kuro-tan!" Ayame teased, picking up a few fallen potatoes. Kurogane just huffed at the remark. But his annoyance quickly turned to worry as Ayame dropped all the potatoes she was carrying and clutched her chest. Then, as though in a daze, she stumbled forward and almost fell face down; but before she could, Kurogane grabbed her upper arm, pulling her back on her feet.

"Ohhh…" Ayame said in a small voice, trying to avoid his questioning gaze, "Umm… Thank you Kurogane-san…" "Cut the crap… what the hell is wrong with you?" Kurogane said quietly, his blood-red eyes boring into Ayame's lilac ones. "I dunno what you're talking about… hehehehe…" she said with a weak laugh, trying to pull her hand from his vice-like grip, but Kurogane didn't give up.

But before he could retort, Chunhyang exclaimed, looking at the entire group, "You look weird!" "Don't think I'm done princess…" Kurogane whispered as he let go of Ayame's hand. "Ahahahahaha… weird!" Fai laughed. Then, he poked Kurogane and said, "Then it must be Kuro-rin who looks weird!" Kurogane could feel his blood boiling – why was it always him!? "IF I'M WEIRD…" he began, but then he couldn't think of anything to say, so he just blurted, "THEN YOU ARE WEIRD TOO!"

Fai, Mokona and Ayame were roaring with laughter when Chunhyang came running up to them and looked at everyone, wearing a look of surprise on her face. "Are you… come with me!" saying this, she grabbed both Ayame and Sakura and walked off, leaving the boys in shock. "Hey, where are you going?" Syaoran yelled as he ran after the girls. "We should go too" Fai giggled. Kurogane knew he was right, but that didn't mean he liked it one bit… as a matter of fact, it annoyed him to the core. "I'm sick of this!" he roared as he and Fai followed Chunhyang.

**XXX**

**A/N: **

**I AM SO SORRY!**

**I haven't put up a chapter in weeks! I had a really unlucky time actually, I fell sick, and then my laptop broke-down… so I couldn't put up the chapter. Sorry :( **

**But I promise to put up the next chapter quickly, won't keep you guys waiting for too long now :D**

**Thanks to all who have R&R so far… it's a great motivation! With that said, please do review after reading this chapter!**

**Until the next update, Ciao! ;) **


	9. Chapter 9 - Confused

"Chunhyang is it? I'm Fai," he introduced himself, "and, this is Syaoran, this is Sakura," he continued, pointing at them. The dimensional travelers were at Chunhyang's at house, where she told them about the atrocities Ryanban. "Also, that's Kuro-puu!" he said, pointing at Kurogane who sitting in the far end of the room. "IT'S KUROGANE!" the ninja roared. Ayame began to giggle at Kurogane's response; even Chunhyang smiled a bit. 'Not so fast princess,' Fai smirked as he continued, "And this young lady right here is 'Yousei-chan'!"

Ayame stopped in mid-laugh and slowly turned to face Fai. "What the hell did you just call me?" she whispered, her eyes gleaming murderously. 'Hehehehe… now this is fun.' "Well, during your kudan battle, you looked really pretty, like a fairy, so it's Yousei-chan," Fai grinned. Before he could say anything, he felt a strong fist connect with his head. 'Mission accomplished,' Fai thought to himself as put up an expression of mock hurt on his face.

"That hurt Yousei-chan!" he cried out, rubbing the spot on his head where Ayame had hit him. "And it will hurt more if you don't stop me calling names," she threatened, cracking her knuckles. "Onae-chan… why is your face a little pink?" Sakura asked innocently, rubbing her eyes. Fai whipped around to see that the crown princess's face was actually flushed. "I don't know what you're talking about!" Ayame blurted out.

But before anybody could say anything, the entire house began to rattle and shake. "Is that… the wind?" Fai asked, looking at the roof, whose tiles were rattling. He could feel a certain power moving the wind currents outside, it was something like magic, but a lot different from his world. Chunhyang seemed to know what was happening and yelled, "Don't go outside!" Soon enough, the windows were thrown open and the wind blew inside the house. The air currents formed a mini gale around the house, swirling around them with incredible force, threatening to swoop them away. Then the winds forced themselves upwards and left as suddenly as they had entered, taking almost half of the roof with them.

Fai could feel a steady flow of energy as the winds departed. 'Where have I felt this before…?' he thought. The aura of the magic seemed familiar to him. 'Oh… of course! It's the same aura that was surrounding the castle.' He was about to share this knowledge with the others, but then stopped himself – he didn't want the others, especially Ayame and Kurogane to know the extent of his magical knowledge. "That wasn't the normal wind… was it?" he said, looking at the gaping hole in the roof. "So far so obvious…" Ayame said gravely, also looking at the roof after making sure that Sakura and Syaoran were alright. "It's the Ryanban!" Chunhyang whispered, shaking with anger. "THAT GUY!" she yelled, "HE DID IT!"

There was something about the Ryanban's magic that seemed familiar to Fai… or at least it was tinted with something familiar, but he just couldn't put a finger on what it was. He knew he wasn't the only one who felt like that; Ayame was also lost in thought, her magical feelers out, searching for a clue. Fai knew that Ayame had lost the bridge that connected her consciousness to her magical reserves, he had sensed it when he had prodded her magic in Hanshin, but it was also a fact that Ayame had used magic to protect Masayoshi from the pain that his kudan underwent. 'But how did she do it?' Fai wondered.

"Well, at least no one was hurt… but the house sure is a mess…" Ayame said, sweeping her eyes over the house, assessing the damage. "We're sorry Chunhyang-san!" Syaoran said, bowing down, "If I hadn't kicked the Ryanban's son, they wouldn't have done this to your house." "I apologize as well…" Ayame followed, bowing down as well. Chunhyang was shocked and embarrassed by their gesture. "Please! Don't! It isn't your fault… both the Ryanban and his son are jerks…" Chunhyang said, anger flashing the young girl's eyes.

Fai had expected Syaoran to bow down and apologize, but Ayame's gesture surprised him. 'You don't see such a humble royal anywhere… she really is something!' Fai mused as he watched as the crown princess helped Syaoran and a sleepy Sakura straighten out the house. Fai knew he was not the only one surprised – Kurogane was also looking at Ayame, his face carrying a melancholic smile. 'Why melancholic…?'

"So… where do you guys intend to stay for the night?" Chunhyang asked, as she and Ayame lifted a fallen cabinet and put it back in its place. "That's something we haven't decided yet" Fai said with a laugh. "Then why don't you all stay here for the night! I have lot of room…" Chunhyang offered, smiling. "Is it really ok?" Sakura asked sincerely. Chunhyang just gave her smile and said, "Of course! You all seem really nice…" then she hesitated, glancing towards Kurogane, "Well most of you at least," she added in a small voice.

'Hehehehe… another chance!' Fai thought as he hopped to where Kurogane was. Then, poking the ninja's back, he said, "See, everyone thinks your creepy," "WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME!?" Kurogane roared, a vein throbbing in his temple. "Have you seen that temperament of yours? Ease out a bit Kuro-tan!" Ayame teased him. Kurogane just gave her a scowl and sat down cross-legged, fuming, while Ayame, Fai and Mokona almost fell down laughing.

But from the corner of his eye, he saw that the crown princess's laugh was half-hearted – she was only pretending to be carefree, all the while winching and touching the bandage beneath her left eye or clutching her chest. It was obvious to anyone who observed that Ayame was hiding something, 'I hope she's not hiding something that will make us worry…' Fai thought, surprised at his own concern for the princess.

"You guys should look around the town, maybe buy a few clothes as well," Chunhyang said after Ayame, Fai and Mokona were done laughing, "I'll show you guys around." "I'll go!" Syaoran said, giving a knowing look to Ayame. 'He's going to take the opportunity to find a clue about the feather… so focused…' Fai thought. Ayame was about to say something when Sakura nudged her and whispered something quietly. "Heh…? Are you sure Sakura?" Ayame asked. Sakura just nodded her head, her eyes still drowsy.

"Let's go out then," Kurogane said, his eyes giving an eerie glow, "Maybe we can find this Ryanban and give him a good thrashing." But just as Kurogane was about to make his way to the door, Ayame grabbed him by the collar of his cloak and pulled him back. "Hey…!" he protested but Ayame just ignored him and said, "Syaoran and Sakura should go out to the town with Chunhyang" Syaoran was surprised at the announcement, and so was Fai. 'Sakura is too weak to walk around… why would she let…?' but Fai's doubts were quelled when he saw the younger princess smile. 'I see…'

So, in spite of Kurogane's protests which were silenced by one sharp smack on the back of his head, Chunhyang, Mokona, Syaoran and Sakura went out into the town which left Ayame, Fai and Kurogane in the house. "Alright then, let's make ourselves useful!" Ayame said which only invited blank stares from Fai and Kurogane. "What are you two looking at me like that for? We are going to help restore the house of course!"

"Okay Yousei-chan!" Fai chirped, while Kurogane mumbled, "I'm not gonna do anything like that," "Did I hear you say something Kurogane-san…?" Ayame said her voice so threateningly quite that Kurogane took his cloak off and went to look for wood to mend the roof, complaining all the way. The command in Ayame's voice when she spoke to Kurogane really surprised Fai. 'She knows when to be humble and when to be authoritative… something that's very important in ruling a country as Ashura-sama would say. She would have made a fine Queen…'

His mind slowly drifted off to the time he spent in Luval Castle, how, even though it was a short while, he felt happiness. Then he also remembered that how everyone… everyone in the castle was dead and the man he put in his father's place was now sealed in an icy bed, next to his brother. And how, all of it was his fault. 'No one else will suffer because they are acquainted with me anymore, no one… Because I will not let anyone get close to me,' he told himself.

"Fai-san, could you help me with this?" Ayame said, bringing him back to his surroundings. She was struggling with a few wooden beams. "Yousei-chan! Don't do such work! Leave it to the men!," he said, taking the beams out of her hands, "Right Kurgs?" he added as Kurogane walked in, carrying a few tiles and beams for the roof in one arm and a ladder and hammer in the other. "IT'S KUROGANE YOU ANNOYING MAGE!" Kurogane yelled while Fai and Ayame laughed.

The next few minutes were silent except for the steady rhythm of the hammer hitting a nail as Kurogane repaired the roof while Fai and Ayame cleaned up the debris and put things in the right order. "Alrighty!" Ayame said, stretching herself, looking around at the house, which was much neater. "We did a good job Fai-san" she continued, giving Fai a warm smile. Fai was a little taken aback by the sincerity of her smile. 'If she knew anything about me, she wouldn't be giving a smile like that' he thought, keeping his signature grin intact on his face. "I think we deserve a little treat," Ayame said thoughtfully, "Would you like some tea Fai-san, Kurogane-san?" "That would be wonderful!" Fai exclaimed while Kurogane just shrugged. As Ayame bounded off to find the kitchen, Fai couldn't hide his surprise – culinary work was something one did not see from a princess.

"She is an odd one… odd in a good way though," Fai said to himself. "You know, it's rude to call someone odd," Kurogane's gruff voice interrupted his thoughts. Fai whipped around to see the ninja staring at him disapprovingly. 'Dammit… I said it out loud… and how does it matter to him' "I wonder if Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun find some clues… hopefully get us some presents too," Fai grinned, hoping to dodge the ninja's questioning glare.

Kurogane seemed to buy it, but Fai knew that the ninja was not so easy to fool; he will have answer his questions eventually anyway. "But is ok to let her wander around like that?" Kurogane asked, "She is always eating or sleeping…" "She's only got two feathers… she doesn't have any thoughts of herself, no idea of good or bad… just like a child…" Fai whispered. "Why did the elder one let her go with that kid then? She knows all this I'm sure…" Kurogane said.

"That's because she asked me to," came the reply. Ayame had just entered the room carrying a tray with a teapot and three cups. "What do you mean she asked?" Kurogane said his face slightly flushed like a child who had been caught doing something wrong. "Don't be so flabbergasted Kuro-tan," Ayame teased, sitting down on the floor. "Answering your question," she continued, "Sakura asked me to let her go out into the town… she wanted to go with Syaoran," 'I knew it…' Fai thought.

"So you let your vulnerable sister go with a kid?" Kurogane asked, his eyes narrowing. 'He's testing her…' it dawned on Fai, but he couldn't understand why. "Being her elder sister, I know what is best for her Kurogane-san," Ayame replied calmly, "And the best thing for her is to spend time with Syaoran. Even if she can't remember all the time they have spent so far, nothing stops her from making a new bond, making new memories. Besides, Syaoran is capable enough to protect her, he's no kid." Kurogane seemed satisfied with her answer because he just went back to fixing the roof.

Fai sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. He couldn't make much sense out of what had just happened. As he took a sip, his eyes wandered over to Ayame, then to Kurogane, and then back to Ayame. 'What the hell is up with these two?' he thought, but any further queries were thrown out of his mind as he tasted the tea. "It's really good!" he exclaimed, unable to hide his surprise – it was easily the best tea he had ever tasted and that was saying something considering his extensive knowledge of anything and everything sweet. "Hey… why do sound so surprised?" Ayame pouted, but she was visibly pleased with the compliment, "For your information I happen to be an excellent cook!" "It's just that I didn't expect a princess – a crown princess at that – to be well acquainted with the kitchen," Fai admitted sheepishly.

Ayame's face lost its smile as soon as Fai said those words. He regretted it immediately – the light in eyes her seemed to dim as though she immersed herself in a memory, a painful one by the looks of it. "Yousei-chan…?" Fai said softly, touching her arm lightly. "Huh!?" she said with a small jump. "Are you alright?" Fai asked. "Oh nothing Fai-san, it's just that, my up-bringing was just a little different, that's all" Ayame said with a smile, but Fai could see the pain and sadness in her eyes. "Well then, let's wait for the others while repairing the house then, ne, Yousei-chan?" Fai said in an attempt to cheer her up. "Yeah… let's wait Fai-san," Ayame said, this time giving a genuine smile.

"WHY ARE YOU TWO SO RELAXED AND DRINKING TEA WHEN I'M DOING ALL THE WORK!?" Kurogane roared. "That's because Kuro-puu is a slowpoke!' Ayame teased, "We finished our share of work and taking a well-deserved break while Kuro-puu was being a slowpoke!" "Slowpoke, slowpoke!" Fai cooed, which just annoyed Kurogane even more. Ayame and Fai burst out laughing. Seeing Ayame laugh like that made Fai feel really warm and happy, 'Why am I feeling like this…?' he thought to himself. But even though he was confused, he really didn't mind it.

**XXX**

**A/N: Hello! Chapter #9! I know this chapter didn't have much of action, but I kinda like chapters like this you know, in which they tend to bond and stuff… Sorry if you didn't like it though. I promise the next chapter will have the Tsubasa gang back in action!**

**Also, I would really appreciate it if all of you guys review after reading this chapter, reviews are really important to a writer!**

**Special thanks to SmileRen and Dark Rose Princess (you guys know why ;)) **

**Until the next update, Ciao! **


	10. Chapter 10 - One so helpful, one not so

"Here you go Sakura. Just apply this on Syaoran's wounds, he will be absolutely fine," Ayame said, handing a jar of the ointment she had just made from the local herbs Chunhyang had in the house. "Will he be fine nee-san?" Sakura asked, worry lining her sleepy eyes. 'She doesn't remember him, but she still cares, is this what Yuki meant by destined to be together by fate?' she thought as she replied, "He'll be fine Sakura, a few cuts won't stop him" "Okay! I'll help in every way I can!" she said, more to herself than Ayame.

"But you can't lay a finger on the Ryanban! The palace has secret spells that nobody can penetrate!" she heard Chunhyang crying out in frustration as she walked into the room where the rest were seated. "There's some sort of shield around the palace, a kekkai maybe…" Ayame said, remembering the strange power she sensed from the palace. "Mokona felt it too!" Mokona said as she bounced over to Ayame, "There's a lot of that mysterious power and I can't figure out if any of it is from the feathers" 'It's some form of magic…' Ayame thought to herself as she petted Mokona.

"How about the son?" Fai sounding a little too happy, "Take him as hostage or something?" "Heh…?" Ayame said, while he just kept grinning. 'Geez… isn't he little too cheerful at the thought of a kidnapping…?' she thought. Kurogane said something similar, which sent both of them into one of their comic encounters. Ayame watched on as both of them argued, observing the smile on the mage's face. 'It's different from the smile he gave me earlier,' she thought. 'The one earlier was genuine… sad, but genuine…'

She knew that even Fai had noticed something was wrong with her, but had refrained from asking anything… before she couldn't understand why but after their little tea conversation, she realized that Fai respected the fact that she wanted to keep a secret and didn't pry. 'I wish the same could be said for Kurogane-san…' Ayame had tried very hard to avoid the ninja, but she knew it was just a matter of time before he would corner her. 'I better think of a convincing cover story, he's not easy to fool'

"From what I heard, a year ago, the Ryanban suddenly gained a lot of power…" Fai trailed off. "What you're trying to say is…?" Kurogane asked impatiently. Ayame's mind snapped out its musings when she realized what Fai was implying. "Sakura's feather!" she gasped, which caught Syaoran's attention, who until now was sitting a little away with Sakura. "It does not match the timeline," Kurogane pointed out skeptically, "The feathers of the memories were scattered recently were they not?" "The dimensions are different, so maybe time passes differently too…" Fai answered calmly.

Ayame nodded in agreement, what Fai said was entirely possible; but the fact that he knew so much about the dimensions and about the power contained by the feathers bothered her. She remembered that when she first saw Fai, her instincts had told her to be careful around him. 'Should I be careful?' she thought to herself, perplexed. "I'll go check if the feather is at the Ryanban's castle" Syaoran announced. "Yup, no point in wasting time here," Ayame said, standing up as well. "Wait!" Sakura cried out, grabbing Syaoran's sleeve, "Syaoran-kun you're hurt…"

The use of the honorific stung Ayame. Sakura hadn't called him that for years. _"Onae-chan, why do you call Yukito-san without any honorific?" "That's because Yuki is a very close friend. When someone is a close friend, you them by their name" "Syaoran-kun is a close friend of mine, does that mean I can call him just Syaoran?" "Of course" "Yaaay!" _

"Now now, wait a bit you two…" Fai said, "The Ryanban's powers are strong, so just going there won't work. You need to break the spell at the entrance" "Well I can…" Ayame began but before her voice could be heard; Fai cut her short by yelling loudly, "Since I can't do anything, we need to ask for help!" "But…" Ayame protested but Fai just waved his hand and said quietly so that only she could hear him, "We don't want you hurt again, do we Yousei-chan?" He flashed her a smile which her made her blush to her roots. 'What is it with this guy…!?'

Kurogane sent a suspicious glance towards them, but his attention was quickly diverted when Mokona said, "Let's ask Yuuko!" 'How are we gonna ask her for help…?' Ayame wondered as the jewel on Mokona's head began to glow. It emitted light and soon a circle formed on the wall of the room, and in the circle was the image of the dimensional witch. "Oh Mokona," she said, her eyes sweeping over the entire room and finally resting on Mokona, "What is it?"

"SHE SPOKE!" Chunhyang screamed hugging Sakura, who herself looked extremely perplexed. "Wow…" Ayame said softly. "Mokona is really useful," Fai said gleefully. "Useful has limits too!" Kurogane yelled, completely shocked. Syaoran looked so taken aback that he couldn't find the right words. While the rest of them were still in shock, Mokona explained the entire situation. "I see," Yuuko said, "So you want to break the spell and go into the palace" "Yup that sums it up!" Fai said cheerfully.

"But you don't have to ask me," Yuuko continued, her red eyes boring into Fai's sapphire ones, "Can't you use spells Fai?" "I gave you the core of my powers," Fai answered. 'That's… that's not true…' Ayame could feel Fai's powers, which were so prominent that even the air around him simmered with power. "The tattoo that I got is the 'core to keep in the powers.' Your powers, it's not it" Yuuko said icily.

Fai cheerful demeanor slipped just a little when Yuuko spoke. Ayame could see his face harden, his smile falter slightly. "But still," Fai said, his voice slightly edgy, "I have a rule not to use spells without it…" 'If that was the case, why didn't he say so before…? Why did he have to lie?' Ayame thought. She glanced at Kurogane who was frowning at Fai's answer. When he saw Ayame looking at him, he gave her slight nod. 'So he thinks the same… Fai is hiding something… and that something is related to our journey…'

"Fine," Yuuko said after some thought, "I'll send you something that can break the spell of the palace, but I must get something of value" 'What can I give…?' Ayame racked her brain. But before anyone could say anything, Fai took his staff and said, "How about this? It's used for spells but I don't use it," 'Why the hell would he give it away… its valuable!' Ayame thought as Yuuko examined the staff. "Fine, give it to Mokona," At this, Fai pointed the staff at Mokona, who opened her mouth and sucked in the whole staff. "AAAAAAGH!" Chunhyang screamed while Ayame just stared at Mokona, gobsmacked. Then, Mokona spat out something, which Syaoran caught.

"What is it?" Ayame asked as went and stood next to Syaoran. "It's… a ball…" Syaoran said, looking at the black, round object in his palm. "Wow Mokona, didn't think you could do that as well!" Fai said, picking up Mokona. "It's one of Mokona's secret abilities – Inter-dimensional mail-service!" "That sure was amazing Mokona!" Ayame said with a smile. "Well then, we have no time to waste… we should change our clothes and get moving…" Kurogane said, cracking his knuckles.

"Oh, is Kuro-puu coming with us then," Ayame teased, "What happened to… what did you tell us? Oh ya – the search for the feathers is up to you, I don't plan on helping," Ayame continued, imitating Kurogane's voice. "I'm coming because I can smell a fight, that's all!" he growled while Mokona, Fai and Ayame laughed. Even Syaoran cracked a small smile. Amidst all the laughter, Kurogane quietly walked up to Ayame and said softly, "Plus, I need to keep an eye on you. You are hiding something and I'm gonna find out what." With this, he picked up the clothes that Syaoran and Sakura had got for him and went inside one of the rooms to change.

'I am in such a pickle,' Ayame thought as she saw Kurogane's retreating back and then looked over at Fai, who was helping Sakura put a bandage on Syaoran's arm. 'One guy respect's my will to keep things a secret while the other is hell bent on finding things out irrespective of whether I want to tell him or not… but there is one thing that's common – they both sure are acting like watchdogs' she smiled to herself.

**XXX**

"You know, it's alright if Chunhyang comes with us as well," Fai said, glancing back at the house. Kurogane, Fai, Syaoran and Ayame were on their way to the Ryanban's palace. Ayame sighed as she thought about the conversation they had with Chunhyang just a few moments ago – the girl had yelled herself hoarse as she tried to convince them to take her with them to the Ryanban's palace. They had, of course, not let her come with them, but still hurting the young girl's feelings had left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"All we have to do is defeat that Ryanban, I'm sure then she won't be such a crybaby," Kurogane said. "It's wrong to say things like about the person who is giving us shelter Kuro-puu," Ayame teased. "MY NAME IS KUROGANE!" he yelled. Ayame left Fai and Kurogane to bicker and started to walk next to Syaoran, who was walking with his eyes downcast.

"Syaoran…" Ayame said softly as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Oh, Ayame-san…" Syaoran said with a jolt. "What were you thinking about?" Ayame asked the boy. "It's just… it's just that getting the feather back in Hanshin didn't pose so of much problem. But here, if we overthrow this Ryanban; won't the whole town go into chaos? What if I end up hurting somebody in the process…?"

"We won't hurt anyone Syaoran," Ayame reassured him, "And about the Ryanban, you have seen first-hand that he is a tyrant, by defeating him we will be helping the townspeople" "Will it be alright?" he asked, his eyes showing the fear he felt it in his heart. 'He's so strong and determined that I sometimes forget he's just a child…' Ayame thought as she affectionately ruffled his hair and said, "Everything will be alright Syaoran. Remember, you're not alone"

"This is it!" Fai announced. Ayame looked ahead to see that they had reached the palace. "Let's do our best okay?" Ayame told Syaoran. "Yeah" Syaoran smiled back, the fire in his eyes burning with renewed vigor. "Let's go in then!" Kurogane said impatiently as he began to push the doors open. "You shouldn't just push the door open…" Fai stopped short as the doors slowly opened; and the sight that awaited them was something Ayame had never seen before.

There was an elaborate landscape laid out before them, complete with green plains, a river and a small town nestled in between with blue skies and fluffy white clouds… and the whole image was upside down – it was as though they were standing on the clouds, looking at the scene below them. "Amazing! We are up in the sky!" Mokona sang while the rest just stared, gobsmacked. "WHAT THE FU….?" Kurogane yelled.

Ayame walked toward the doorway slowly and extended her hand forward. Just as her hand entered, the entire scenery rippled a little. "An illusion…" she said softly as took her hand back. "The castle is being protected by spells," Fai said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Kuro-min is very impatient don't you think?" he added winking at Kurogane. "Shut up!" Kurogane yelled.

Ayame closed her eyes and increased her field of influence till it encompassed the entire castle. She then focused on every entrance in the castle's perimeter. Just as she expected, there were powerful illusion spells placed on every door like the one they were facing. "There are spells on every entrance…" Ayame told them, which attracted a curious look from Fai and an angry one from Kurogane. 'Geez… what is it with both of them…?'

"It's time for the present that the dimensional witch to make an appearance!" Fai chirped and in background Mokona said "Ta-da~!" "Looks like a ball to me… does it even do anything?" Kurogane asked, staring at the object in Syaoran's hand. "I wonder how we are to use this…" Ayame said, the gears in her mind whirring to find an answer. "Throw it!" Mokona answered. "Umm… Mokona… are you sure?" Ayame asked, skeptical. "Throw it with all your strength! Throw in into the castle!" Mokona answered, hopping and landing on Ayame's head.

"Really…? Mokona if I throw this away…" Syaoran said but Mokona cut him short saying, "It's okay silly! That's how you're supposed to use it!" "Alright then, go for it Syaoran" Ayame said, giving him a thumbs-up. Syaoran just gave a nod and walked a little ahead of them. He then threw the ball in the air and gave it a nice kick to increase its momentum. 'I hope it works…' Ayame thought, crossing her fingers. Her prayers were answered when the ball hit an invisible force-field. Within seconds, cracks began to form from the point of impact and spread over the entire castle – like a crack on the surface of a snow globe.

"Brilliant!" Ayame exclaimed as she felt the illusion spells around the castle fade away. The inverted landscape in front of them vanished to reveal a narrow stone corridor. "Let's go" Syaoran said as he walked in without a second thought. "Aye-aye captain!" Mokona and Fai chorused as they followed him, leaving Kurogane and Ayame in the rear. 'Shoot… I have to get away before he asks something again…' Ayame thought as she began to increase her pace.

Then suddenly, Kurogane caught a small handful of her long, midnight black hair and pulled her back. "Owww… It's rude to pull someone's hair like that!" "How did you know about the spells around the castle?" Kurogane asked, completely disregarding Ayame's protests. "Intuition" Ayame said, her eyes avoiding direct contact with the ninja's. "Do you really expect me to believe that princess," Kurogane growled, his voice assuming a threatening tone. "Fine, alright… I used my magic…" Ayame admitted, seeing that there was no way out.

"Well you used you're magic to help out that Masayoshi boy back in Hanshin as well," Kurogane continued. "How the hell do you know that?" Ayame asked, surprised. But Kurogane just smirked, "It was only a doubt, but you just confirmed it" 'Dammit… I fell right into that one…' "You said your magic was compromised. Then how are you able to use it now?" Kurogane asked, showing no sign of letting the situation go. "Well… I… uh…" Ayame mumbled quietly, the whole while thinking of a way out.

But she was saved the trouble when Fai came out of nowhere and threw his arms over Kurogane's shoulder. "Kuro-tan~! Not bullying Yousei-chan, are you…?" he teased, poking Kurogane. "Get off me you stupid mage…" Kurogane growled trying to throw him off but Fai swiftly escaped. "You are such a meanie!" Fai said childishly. 'Never thought Fai would be my saving grace…' Ayame sighed as Fai and Kurogane quarreled. "What the hell do you want?" Kurogane asked, clearly annoyed. "Well, I just wanted to protect Yousei-hime!" Fai said, winking at Ayame. But Ayame was a little taken aback by the slight twinkle in his eyes. 'Could it be… that he came out of nowhere because he knew that Kurogane-san had cornered me?' She shook the thought out of her head. 'That's just too farfetched' she told herself.

They kept walking for quite some time without encountering anything – the corridor just kept going on and on. "How long are we supposed to walk around this hallway?" Kurogane cried out in annoyance. 'We have been walking for quite long, there should have been a door…' Ayame thought, perplexed by the situation. "We came back to the same spot" Syaoran said, surprising everyone. "We have been walking straight the whole time… then how?" Ayame asked.

"I dropped this at the entrance of the hall," Syaoran said, holding a small stone in his hand. "Hyuuu~! That was quick thinking Syaoran!" Fai said. "Umm… Fai-san… did you just say 'Hyuuu'?" Ayame asked, exasperated at the mage's antics. "I don't know to how to whistle" Fai said cheerfully while Mokona imitated him by singing 'Hyuuu' over and over. "Damn, we are wasting our time walking around in circles like this," Kurogane growled. "Mokona is tired too…" she said dramatically. "You haven't walked a single bit you pork bun!" Kurogane yelled, pinching Mokona's cheeks.

Amidst this commotion, Fai walked to a nearby wall and began to examine it. Not that Ayame noticed it, but when he closed his eyes and placed his hand on the wall, Ayame felt a spike in his magic, as though he was using it to feel whatever was there beyond the wall. 'He said he was not gonna use his magic… but here he is, using it…' Ayame thought. "Is it… here?" Fai whispered softly as he opened his eyes, looking half dazed.

"Did you find anything Fai-san?" Syaoran asked which surprised him out of his daze. Fai immediately regained his composure and explained, "This kind of magic only exists in places where magical powers are the strongest" "Perhaps the Ryanban is in here?" Kurogane asked hopefully. "It's time for Kuro-puu to show off your strength and break this wall!" Fai cheered.

"But Fai-san, I thought you are unable to use magic?" Syaoran asked the question that was lingering in Ayame's mind. Again, Fai's façade slipped again, his face hardening a little as he smiled and said, "It wasn't magic Syaoran-kun, just a guess!" Syaoran looked like he wasn't convinced with the answer, but he didn't push it further while Kurogane was scrutinizing the mage with narrowed eyes. He almost opened his mouth to say something, but Ayame surprised herself by cutting in and saying, "Well we have no time to waste then! Kurogane-san if you will please…"

Kurogane just huffed, clearly annoyed at being interrupted again and walked towards the wall. "I think I owe you one Yousei-chan," Fai whispered quietly. "Nothing like that…" Ayame said, "I was just returning the favor…" Ayame wanted to know what Fai was hiding; she knew the right thing to do was to have let Kurogane speak, but how could she let Fai get pushed into a corner when he had saved her from a similar situation? Her honor didn't allow that. 'I'm an idiot…' she sighed to herself as Kurogane broke the wall with a single punch.

"Impressive!" Fai cooed as they waited for the dust to settle down. As air cleared up, Ayame saw they had entered a room with a high ceiling and in the center of the room was a translucent curtain, attached to the ceiling. But what alarmed Ayame was the magic power that was radiating from the person sitting behind the curtain. 'It's powerful… it's rare to find magic of this caliber…' she thought. "Who's there?" Syaoran called out.

They were answered by a soft clinking sound which seemed like wind chimes. The curtains parted to show a woman dressed in a black, flowing dress; an elaborate headdress adorning her head. 'She's… not human…' Ayame realized with a jolt as the woman slowly opened her eyes, which were completely black. "You have finally arrived… you nameless wanderers…" she said in a sickeningly sweet voice, giving them a devilish smile.

Ayame had enough instinct to know that this woman was one of the enemy – she could practically smell battle coming. 'Now is not the time to let your mind wander. All the truths and lies can wait, you have to focus now,' she told herself as she mentally prepared herself for a fight.

**XXX**

**A/N: I'M SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY! I know it's been forever since my last update, I really don't have any excuse for this…**

**My next update might take a little longer… there is this idea of a one-shot TRC crossover that's been running circles in my head for quite some time now, running around so much that I had a hard time writing this chapter *sigh*  
Before it troubles me again, I have to write it down, I hope you all forgive me! :'(**

**Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter. Please let me know what you think! Please review.**

**Until the next time, Ciao! **


	11. Chapter 11 - Riddles

Ayame calmed her racing mind and focused on the woman in front of her. 'She's strong…' she told herself, assessing her magical aura. "Who are you?" Kurogane asked. At this the woman just smirked and said, "After 100 years of history, humans are still so similar to insects. Be careful how you use your mouth," then observing all of them, she added, "That is what I would like to say, but… it's been a long time since I've had guests so I'll tolerate it."

Ayame couldn't help but smile at the vein throbbing in Kurogane's forehead. 'He gets annoyed so easily…' "Cut out the crap and spit out where the Ryanban is," Kurogane growled. "You are too impatient Kuro-tan!" Ayame teased while Fai and Mokona chorused, "Impatient! Impatient!" "Really cute children" the woman behind the curtain giggled. "Hey, she praised us!" Fai said gleefully. "She called us little kids, how is that a praise?" Kurogane yelled.

"We are seeking something that may be in this castle, so could please tell us where the Ryanban is?" Syaoran said calmly. "You have very bright eyes little one…" the woman said softly, looking at Syaoran, almost fondly. Then, her eyes assumed their usual cold demeanor, "But I can't answer that question… and I cannot let you pass this place as well," "I get the impression that you'll be rough with us so we can't pass right?" Fai said with a smile. "That's right, little child" she said with a smile, "My name is Kiishimu… and this is your final stop"

The ornaments in her headdress clinked and Ayame felt Kiishimu weaving her magic. Soon Ayame found herself standing on an enormous stone pillar. She saw that the pillar was in the middle of a huge pond and it was one of the many standing up and tall. Spherical droplets of water hovered all around her and light fog was scattered everywhere as far as she could see. The rest of her companions were also standing on different pillars each. Kiishimu, on the other hand, was standing inside a small temple constructed above the pond.

"An illusion?" Kurogane asked, looking at the surroundings. "It's not… all this is real…" Ayame answered. 'It's as if the whole landscape has been sculpted by her magic…' Ayame realized with a jolt. "That's right child, it's a secret art," Kiishimu said. She flicked her fingers and the one of the water droplets near Syaoran raced towards him. "Syaoran!" Ayame yelled out in alarm as Syaoran raised his arms to shield himself. 'Something is not right with this water… it feels all wrong…' she thought as her heart skipped a beat when the droplet hit the sleeve of Syaoran's clothes.

Ayame's fears were realized when Syaoran's sleeve began to sizzle and part of it fell off. "It… melted…?" Syaoran said in surprise, looking at his damaged sleeve. "Because the damage my secret art inflicts is real… you all will die if we get badly hurt" Kiishimu said calmly as she raised her arms above her head. In response to her movement, the droplets around Ayame moved at incredible speed towards her. Ayame mentally thanked all her military training as dodged by jumping from one pillar to the other; missing several by a hairs breadth.

From the corner of her eye, she saw that the rest of them were faring well as well. But after a while she saw, to her horror that Syaoran slipped and was falling down into the pond. 'I have to do something… my instinct tells me that the water in the pond is not safe' Ayame knew that if she did anything, Kurogane and Fai both will be at her throat, 'But I cannot let Syaoran get hurt' she decided as she summoned her magic and willed the air around Syaoran to swirl and support him. Then she slowly directed Syaoran to the nearest pillar.

"Syaoran, are you alright?" Ayame called. "Yes, thanks to you Ayame-san" Syaoran said gratefully. "You are smart to save him child," Kiishimu smiled, "The pond water and the water droplets have the same destructive power." "Quick thinking there Yousei-chan" Fai cheered, but Ayame could hear the reproach in his voice. If that wasn't enough, she practically feel Kurogane's murderous glare. 'Oh boy I'm in trouble…' Ayame cursed as she dodged another droplet.

"We'll need something to deflect the water" Ayame said to no one in particular. "Hmmm… I might have an idea…" Fai said thoughtfully. He jumped and landed gracefully on top of a lamppost. "Kuro-min!" Fai sang, "Break this will you?" "Why should I?" Kurogane yelled out in annoyance. "What then are you gonna let those muscles of yours rot then Kuro-tan?" Ayame teased as she landed on the same pillar on which he was standing.

Kurogane glared at her angrily and opened his mouth to say something, but Ayame interrupted him and said, "Now is not the time to start an argument Kurogane-san, we have to find a solution to this and fast." Kurogane looked like he was about to protest, but then he directed his attention to the lamppost and punched it with all his might; as though he was removing his anger on it, breaking the whole post into three pieces. "This way you don't have to touch the drops of water. Just hit them away" Fai said handing Ayame one of the pieces.

As more droplets attacked them, Ayame, Fai and Kurogane split; but this time they were not just jumping from one pillar to the other, but they were also taking as many water drops as they could. Kurogane in particular took down at least five huge droplets with one swing. "Hyuuu~! You did it Kuro-sama! You're so cool!" Fai sang. "STOP SAYING WHISTLING SOUNDS WITH YOUR MOUTH!" Kurogane roared.

Even though the dimensional travelers put up a good fight, Ayame had an uneasy feeling that Kiishimu was just toying with them. 'I have to think of something fast… we need to get out of here…' At that precise moment, Syaoran passed her vision. 'Or maybe… if I could just get Syaoran out… it will be easier for one of us to escape…' "Syaoran…" Ayame called out, "You and Mokona get out of here first. There's no point staying here" "But Ayame-san, I can't just leave you here!" Syaoran said. "There are more important things than my safety Syaoran," Ayame tried to reassure him. "Yeah, I agree with Yousei-chan," Fai chirped, "Besides, Kuro-pii will take care of things here" "ME AGAIN!" Kurogane yelled in annoyance.

"The magic is weaker up there," Fai said, pointing upwards, "Syaoran, you should be able to kick your way out." "It's so high…" Mokona said, poking her head out of Syaoran's clothes, "Can you get up there Syaoran?" "Kuro-sama can propel him upwards," Ayame said, jumping over to where Kurogane was. "Yeah, that will work" Fai said cheerfully as he came over as well. "But Ayame-san…" Syaoran said hesitatingly. "I will be fine Syaoran" Ayame said, "And remember, I'm counting on you to get Sakura's feather back."

"Right…" Syaoran said with a slight smile, "I'm going then!" Syaoran jumped off the pillar he was standing on and landed on the pole Kurogane was holding. Kurogane then swung the pole with full power, propelling Syaoran upwards. "Please get out, Syaoran…" Ayame whispered. Soon enough, Syaoran kicked through the apparent ceiling, safely getting out. "You two are so cool! Hyuuu~!" Fai sang.

"Hmmm… one person escaped… couldn't be helped…" Kiishimu said wistfully, looking at the hole which Syaoran had made while escaping. Then she flicked her fingers saying, "Then I'll just have to teach the remaining children a lesson…" 'She said 'have to teach'… why did she say that…' Ayame thought. In response to Kiishimu's movements, the water droplets burst, sending a shower of acid on the three remaining behind, burning holes into their clothes. "This is getting serious now…" Fai said with a smile, but minus the cheerfulness.

"You can't escape the way that child just did, little children" Kiishimu said. But the tone with she said it bothered Ayame. But before she could mull it over in her head, the water droplets coalesced to form huge spheres of water, each one easily bigger than Kurogane. As one moved dangerously close to them, Fai hit it hard with his pole; but instead of shattering on impact, the sphere changed its shape, assuming a 'C' shaped form, threatening to engulf all of them.

Ayame jumped out quickly by instinct and from the corner of her eye she saw Kurogane prepare to do the same, but Fai was taken aback by surprise. Ayame saw that Fai won't make it out on time. "KUROGANE-SAN DO SOMETHING!" Ayame yelled out in alarm. In response to her scream, Kurogane used his pole to push Fai out of harm's way as he jumped away himself. Ayame breathed a sigh of relief as Fai landed safely on a pillar, massaging the area where Kurogane's pole had hit him.

"Kuro-mu you're mean!" he complained. "Shut up Fai!" Ayame yelled in annoyance, "Pay more attention, will you?" Ayame had been scared out of her wits when she thought that Fai would get burnt, but why she did feel so scared, she didn't know. Fai just blinked at Ayame, which annoyed her even more. "What are you blinking at me like that for you stupid mage?" she yelled. At this Fai just smiled and said softly, "You're really cute, Yousei-chan…" Ayame was about to yell back when Kiishimu said, "Very clever, little children… I guess I won't be bored until this is over…" She waved her hand again and the already huge spheres began coalescing again, now forming spheres the size of a small house.

"This… is going to be tough…" Fai said, looking around. "I'm very impressed… the only person who was able to bear up like this in the past was a mage from this town" Kiishimu said, almost fondly. "That would be Chunhyang's mom right?" Fai asked. "Yes. She said she had a girl named that." Then Kiishimu's eyes clouded over and that's when it caught Ayame's eye – an amethyst stone set right in the middle of Kiishimu's headdress, which began to emit a faint glow.

Kiishimu flicked her fingers and the spheres began attacking them again. But Ayame was too preoccupied with the amethyst that she saw the attack a little too late. She jumped away alright, but she faltered on her landing; her foot slipped and she plummeted downwards towards the pond. 'Shoot, how do I get out of this now?' Ayame ran her head to find a way out; she even tried to summon her magic, but she had pushed her already meager powers to the limit when she had used them to sense the spells around the castle and save Syaoran.

Just when she thought that she would get burnt, closing her eyes to prepare for impact, a strong hand caught Ayame around her waist. Ayame opened her eyes in surprise when she heard a splash. "K… Kurogane!" Ayame gasped when she saw her savior. "Maybe you should listen to the advice you gave the mage" he growled as he threw her over his shoulder. "Kurogane get out of the pond! Your feet!" Ayame yelled in alarm when she saw that his feet were immersed in the pond.

"Yeah, yeah… I don't need to be told to do that princess," Kurogane muttered as jumped out of the pond and landed on the nearest pillar. "What the hell were you thinking?" Kurogane said angrily as he set Ayame down. "There was something that caught my eye…" Ayame said sheepishly, "I'm sorry…" "You should be more careful Yousei-chan!" Fai said playfully, but Ayame could see relief etched in every line.

"You children are very brave," Kiishimu said, "I regret us parting… but soon, it will be time to say farewell" Kiishimu waved her hand again, and this time all the water came to together to form a huge wave, standing tall in front of them. "Well, that's a huge problem now…" Fai said, rubbing his forehead, "If get hit by that, we will die…" Then face hardened as he added, "And… I don't want to die…"

"You don't want to die, but you still won't use your magic?" Kurogane, observing Fai's every move. "Yup, sorry" Fai said with a smile which didn't quite reach his eyes. 'But then again, when has his smile really reached his eyes…' Ayame thought. The fact that Fai still refused to use his magic puzzled her. 'Maybe that's because he can't die, he's too powerful to die so easily…' a voice whispered in her head; a long forgotten voice which she couldn't place. 'That doesn't make any sense!' Ayame told herself, shaking the thought out of her head.

"What about Kuro-mi?" Fai asked. "I'm not gonna die here either, because I need to go back to Japan" Kurogane said, gritting his teeth, "That pork bun won't leave until we find that young girl's feather, so we'll have to quickly find the feather and move to the next world." "I don't want to stay in one place either," Fai said quietly. "Why?" Kurogane asked. "Because…" Fai said more to himself than them, worry and fear fluttering in his blue eyes, "If the person sleeping underwater in my world awakens, then I might get caught."

"Do you have anything to say?" Kurogane asked Ayame. "Heh…? Me?" Ayame asked surprised. "Well I'm not talking to the acid wave behind you am I?" Kurogane retorted. "Well… I can't die as well you know" she said with a smile, "There are two kids who will be lost without me." Both Fai and Kurogane cracked a smile at that. 'Feels a we are back in front of the dimensional witch… it seems like so long ago…' Ayame thought.

"So… what should we do?" Fai said with a grin. "Actually, there is something…" Ayame said, staring intently at Kiishimu. As she expected, the amethyst in Kiishimu's headdress was glowing again as Kiishimu prepared for the final attack. 'The fondness in her voice, her eyes clouding over before she attacks… it makes sense now…'

"She is being controlled" Ayame said softly. "What?" Kurogane asked, surprised. "So she is not trying to kill us because she wants to?" Fai asked, pretending to be innocent. Ayame smacked him on his head before continuing, "She is being controlled by the amethyst that is set on her headdress" "So if we break it…." Kurogane trailed off. "We can break the spell on her" Fai chirped.

"Alright then, let's go!" Ayame said, but a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her. "You are not going anywhere" Kurogane said in a dangerously quite voice. Ayame knew that there was no point arguing with Kurogane, so she looked at Fai for support. But the twinkle in the mage's eyes told her she wasn't so lucky. "Let the men handle this Yousei-chan" Fai said, placing his hand lightly on her other shoulder. Ayame looked at Kurogane first, and then at Fai, hoping to talk her way out, but the determination in their eyes told her otherwise. "Fine…" Ayame sighed, "Take care of yourselves." "Look who's talking" Kurogane smirked.

Fai rushed head-on first, swiftly cutting in the distance between him and Kiishimu. 'But he doesn't have enough momentum to make it…' Ayame thought, twisting her hands nervously. At that precise moment, Kurogane jumped off as well. 'What are those two thinking…?' Just when Fai began to lose momentum, Kurogane came up from behind him and using Fai as support, pushed himself forward to close in the little distance between him and Kiishimu.

"W… what?" Kiishimu stammered as Kurogane reached the temple. "I hate the rain so STOP!" Kurogane roared as he hit Kiishimu on her head, breaking the amethyst on her headdress. "That was really smart…" Ayame said with a smile as the pond and the pillars disappeared and the room with the curtain materialized. "Looks like it's over" Fai grinned, looking around.

"If you make another strange move…" Kurogane threatened Kiishimu, but before he could say anything else, Kiishimu swiftly got up and – to Ayame's huge surprise – placed a kiss on Kurogane's cheek. Ayame had to use all of her self-control to stop herself from laughing when she saw color rising up in the ninja's face. "What the hell did you do now?" Kurogane growled through gritted teeth. "That was my thanks" Kiishimu smiled gratefully, "I was being controlled by the Ryanban through the spell cast on the amethyst you just broke."

"You were right Yousei-chan!" Fai yelled in delight as he rushed forward to hug Ayame, but she shifted her position a little, which sent Fai crashing on the floor. "You're mean Yousei-chan!" Fai bawled while Ayame just grinned. "So this child knew I was being controlled," Kiishimu said softly, looking at Ayame curiously. "It was just a guess…" Ayame laughed weakly, embarrassed by the attention. "You are very talented… and you have a lot of spirit… inspite of the tragedy that had befallen you…" Kiishimu said with a sad smile.

Instinct told Ayame that Kiishimu was talking about the events that had resulted in the death of her mother, but the fact that Kiishimu knew about it puzzled her. But before Ayame or any of the others could ask anything, Kiishimu changed the topic by asking, "You wanted to know where the Ryanban is right?" 'Now is not the time to think about all that Ayame…' she told herself as she nodded, 'We have to find the feather' "Those bastards are on the top floor of this castle," Kiishimu continued, "But they're going to resort to some cowardly, unfair trick again…" she added with distaste.

"We'll get going then!" Fai said, as they ran out of the room to find stairs to reach the top floor. Ayame was thankful for the silence – she had a lot to think about. The fact that Kiishimu knew about the incident with her mother surprised her; her own memory of that terrible event were fuzzy and half-formed. Her father, Clow Reed, had told her it was mostly due to stress, but if that was the case; she should have remembered it by now. Ayame had a gut feeling that whatever happened that day all those years ago was connected with the journey she is on now. 'Maybe… Kiishimu can give me a few answers…' Ayame hoped.

"Oie princess… snap out of it," Kurogane's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Huh…?" she asked blankly. "We are almost there, better not drift off. Am I clear?" Kurogane said. "Keep your head clear, don't make us worried ok?" Fai smiled. 'They are right; I don't have time to think about all this…' "I'm sorry…" Ayame apologized, "There won't be any trouble from my side"

The trio reached the topmost floor without any incident, to Ayame's great relief – she didn't have a lot of strength left. All the magic she used had begun to take a toll on her, her breathing became more labored and excruciating pain began to build up in the places where the acid had hit. 'Just a while longer, don't give up on me now…' Ayame thought, gritting her teeth.

"Looks like we are almost there" Fai said pointing ahead. Ayame didn't need to see that he was right; she could feel familiar waves of energy. "Sakura's feather! I can feel it!" Ayame gasped. "So the Ryanban had it after all" Kurogane said. Fai reached the door first, followed by Kurogane and Ayame. The room again was a high ceilinged one, but was decorated and had more flair compared to the room where Kiishimu was kept hostage. The center of the room held a small pond filled with clear, glistening water which Ayame suspected was used as a viewing mirror.

Ayame was surprised to see the room full of people; most of them were the men from the village. "Huh? Why are there so many people here?" Fai said, announcing their arrival. "Fai, Ayame, Kuro-puu!" Mokona yelled in delight as she hopped right onto Fai's head, "You three took so long! Mokona was worried!" Before Ayame could say anything, another voice demanded her attention, "Nee-san!" Sakura exclaimed as she ran and hugged Ayame.

"Sakura! What are you doing here?" Ayame said angrily, "You shouldn't have come here! What if you got hurt?" "I'm sorry nee-san… I came here with Chunhyang…" Sakura said softly. It was then that she saw Chunhyang standing just a little away from them, holding a mirror which seemed to be radiating power everywhere. 'Looks like she learnt to channel her power' "Sakura, where's Syaoran?" Ayame asked. "Over there…" she pointed out.

Ayame's eyes followed Sakura's hand and she saw that Syaoran was standing in the far end of the room in front of a short, stout old man who was holding a half broken glass sphere. Inside was, unmistakably, Sakura's feather; emitting a pure white glow. "That is Sakura-hime's feather" Syaoran said quietly, "Hand it over." "Syaoran-kun…" Sakura whimpered. "He will be fine Sakura…" Ayame said softly, gently squeezing her younger sister's shoulders.

"Wait! Wait a second!" the Ryanban stammered, as Syaoran got near him, "With this maybe we can bring Chunhyang's mother back!" The Ryanban's words were only welcomed by pin-drop silence. 'That bastard… playing a trick like that…' Ayame thought as she looked over to where Chunhyang was standing with her head bowed. "You killed my mother who was trying to protect the town!" she yelled, tears flowing down her cheeks, "My mother said it before – no matter what kind of power you use, the life that is lost cannot be restored! NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MISS HER I CAN'T SEE HER ANYMORE!"

Ayame didn't realize when tears began leaking out of her eyes. Chunhyang's outburst had reminded her of the few months after her own mother's death – how she used to sit in the library, pouring over books and manuscripts from dawn till dusk to find a way to bring her mother back. How, one day, her father sat down and explained to her that her mother was gone and there was nothing she could do about it. _"It's the most fundamental rule of the universe my child, life once lost can never be revived again. This one rule is what makes living so precious"_

"Chunhyang," Syaoran said softly, "Do you want revenge?" "What…?" Chunhyang said, surprised. "Revenge only invites more hurt and pain Chunhyang…" Ayame said, wiping her tears, "I'm sure your mother wouldn't want you to dirty your hands with someone like him." Chunhyang seemed lost for words when she looked at Ayame, then the Ryanban and then back at Ayame again. "You're… you're right Ayame-san…" she said, to Ayame's great relief, "This man is not worth my time…"

Syaoran gave a curt nod and began walking towards the Ryanban. "No…!" the Ryanban whimpered, falling down heavily, "Don't come any closer…!" But before Syaoran could say or do anything, a hand came out of the shadows and caught hold of the Ryanban. "This… is the end…" said a familiar voice. "Kiishimu…" Ayame realized. Soon enough, Kiishimu materialized from the shadows, smiling at all of them. "We meet again little children," she said with a smile, "And don't worry about the Ryanban; I will treat him very nicely" she added in a dangerously soft voice as the Ryanban screamed, "HELP!"

Kiishimu then turned her attention to Chunhyang and said, "Your mother was a great mage. During our various duels, she told me that she was looking forward to the day when you will become a powerful mage yourself, more powerful than she was" Chunhyang just stared at Kiishimu, surprised. "Be strong" Kiishimu continued, "Strong enough to rival me" Tears began to leak out of her eyes again as Chunhyang said, "I will… I definitely will…!"

"And you child…" Kiishimu addressed Ayame, to everybody's surprise, "It was your quick mind that released me from this man's spell, I have to return the favor somehow…" "Oh no… really there's no need for that…" Ayame said sheepishly. "You are very humble…" Kiishimu said with a smile, "You have a very brave and gentle heart… that's why I want to help you…" "Help me?" Ayame asked, confused. "The time of your awakening draws near child…" Kiishimu said, serious now, "Your journey will only get difficult… and there is someone who will stop especially you at all cost. So till your time comes, pay close attention to your dreams… they will give you the answers you seek…"

"What… what is that supposed to mean?" Ayame asked, but Kiishimu disregarded her question. "Well then, goodbye dear children" Kiishimu said as she and the Ryanban disappeared in a swirl of shadows, leaving everyone, particularly Ayame, with more questions rather than answers.

**XXX**

**A/N: Now that chapter was longer than usual! I am somewhat not satisfied with this chapter… I read it and read it and read it again, but I couldn't put a finger on it. My beta said there is nothing wrong with the chapter, so I trust her judgment. Hope you guys like it!  
Since college begins next week. The next chapter might take a while… I'm apologizing in advance! Sorry!  
Please please please review… I NEED REVIEWS to know how you are responding to my story; and they will also help me improve.  
Until the next update, Ciao!**

**P.S: Any Fairytail fans here? I have new story called 'There is no such thing as chance encounters' in the TRCxFairytail section! (It's a very stupid name for a story… I know… but I couldn't think of anything else!) It would be great if you guys could R&R. Thank you! **


	12. Chapter 12 - Saviour or Killer?

"Ayame-san, you really don't have to heal me…" Syaoran protested, but Ayame didn't let go of his hand. "Who said you have any say in this young man? Be quiet and let me do my work!" she sternly. "Okay…" Syaoran said. Kurogane, who was sitting in the shadows, watched curiously as Ayame placed her hand over Syaoran's bruises and closed her eyes to concentrate. Her hands began to emit a soft, lavender glow and Kurogane's eyes widened in surprise as all the bruises first began to shrink, and then disappear altogether.

"Ayame-san that's amazing!" Chunhyang said softly. "Is there any pain Syaoran?" Ayame asked. "No pain at all Ayame-san. Thank you" Syaoran said gratefully. While Syaoran and Chunhyang continued to marvel at Ayame's ability, Kurogane kept growing more and more skeptical. His calculative eye saw that the princess wasn't as fine as she was showing everyone – he saw her labored breath, the tiny beads of sweat on her brow and the dark circles beneath her eyes.

And that did nothing to sooth Kurogane's soaring temper. 'How can they not see her in trouble?' he fumed, 'It's obvious isn't it…' Kurogane watched as Ayame continued to fuss over Syaoran, like a mother would fuss over her son. Kurogane, despite his anger, found himself smiling; it was as if he was watching the Ayame he knew at work. 'The mage had said something about the same soul…' he thought, 'Might be true after all…' "Alrighty then, you're all done Syaoran!" Ayame announced, "Now you can go and sit next to Sakura."

Syaoran blushed the color of sunset and stammered, "N… no… Ayame-san… I mean…" Ayame laughed at Syaoran's floundering. She then ruffled the boy's hair affectionately and said, "I know what runs through that head of yours Syaoran, I've known you since you were a little boy. Now off you go but do get some sleep ok?" Syaoran was so flabbergasted that he just nodded awkwardly before leaving the room and Chunhyang was right on his heels.

Ayame waited till Syaoran was out of sight, before slumping onto the floor. "That was close… I couldn't have held up a strong face any longer…" she sighed. "So you didn't notice me sitting here after all" Kurogane said quietly as he moved out of the shadows. Ayame almost jumped out of her skin in surprise when she saw him emerge. "Kuro-puu… for how long have you been sitting there?" she said, managing a smile. "Don't give me your half-baked smiles, I'm not that kid, I won't buy it so easily," Kurogane growled, "Especially after what I just saw."

"Oh no that was nothing, I'm absolutely fine!" Ayame said, standing up immediately, but then she began to sway dangerously. "Oie!" Kurogane yelled as he jumped up to catch her, "Are you alright?" Ayame's eyes seemed a little dazed as she answered, "I'm fine Kuro-puu, guess I stood up a little too quickly"

Even though her voice was strong, Ayame's hand was still clasped firmly around Kurogane's arm for support. Kurogane's heart thudded in his chest with fear as he helped Ayame sit down on a futon. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kurogane yelled, unable to contain his anger anymore, "What the hell is wrong with you?" "I'm fine Kuro-sama, just a little tired after the day's events. Was quite a day, don't you think?" Ayame said, trying to change the topic.

Kurogane grabbed Ayame's shoulders and shook her, "Don't change the topic with me!" he yelled, "What is happening to you? And why won't you tell anyone?" "It's simple Kuro-puu…" Ayame said, completely calm, "I don't want Sakura and Syaoran to worry about me." "Well if you don't tell them, they will only be more worried" he said. "How will they be worried if they don't see something is wrong with me… as long as I keep my tracks hidden, it will be fine" Ayame replied.

Kurogane felt his anger reach new heights… and mingled with that, to his surprise, was hurt. "And what about the fact that I am worried?" he asked angrily, his red eyes boring into her lilac ones. But Ayame didn't flinch at his gaze; on the other hand she patiently returned it. "Yes… you are worried Kurogane-san…" she said softly, "But who are you really worried about? Me or the one whom you knew before?"

Kurogane's eyes widened in shock as he slowly let go of Ayame. He wanted to yell out that he was worried about her… worried about the one sitting in front of him, patiently waiting for his answer. But for some reason, he couldn't open his mouth to say it. He just sat there, staring at the splitting image of the one whom he had cherished a long time ago, unable to give an answer. 'Whom… whom am I worried about?' he asked himself, but no answer came back – his voice just echoed in the recesses of his mind.

Ayame gently placed her hand on his cheek and said, "I'm sorry you have to go through this because of me Kurogane-san, I really am" she said, her eyes shining with kindness, "But you have to tear yourself away from the past and bring yourself to reality…" Kurogane could do nothing but stare as Ayame slowly took her hand back, got up and walked out of the room, leaving him alone with his unanswered questions.

**XXX**

"Her awakening is happening more quickly than expected," Xing Huo said, her eyes fixed on the viewing glass which showed a pale young woman with flowing black hair lying down on the snow, "Is it time to make our move then?" "I guess it is…" Fei Wong Reed said calmly, snapping his fingers. Immediately, two figures appeared behind him. "I assume you both know what to do?" he asked quietly, his voice dripping with malice. "Yes my lord," said one of the figures bowing deeply. "I understand my task perfectly well… I will not disappoint you" the other one replied, his red eyes giving off an eerie glow.

**XXX**

_A scream pierced through the air as she sat shivering, her mother's hands shielding her from the horror._ _"Don't look my little princess," she whispered softly, "And whatever may happen, don't get bitter… none of this is your fault." "That's a lie, you shouldn't lie. What kind of example are you setting in front of your daughter, Your Grace?" a man said, his voice dripping with sweetness which was sickening._

"_You stay away from her!" her mother yelled out, moving in front of her protectively, still shielding her eyes. "Yes I do have business with the young princess, but I have to take care of you first!" the voice said and immediately she heard a slashing sound. Something warm splashed all over her and her mother's protective form fell away from her with a gentle thud. She began to shake uncontrollably, 'No…' she told herself, 'it's not possible!'_

"_Now, my young princess," the man said, gently holding her chin and lifting her face up, "Let's get down to business shall we? Open your eyes…" "Where's my Oka-san?" she whimpered, too scared to face her would be killer. "If you want to know… all you have to do is open those lovely eyes of yours, young princess" he whispered into her ears, the malice in his voice sending a cold shiver up her spine. Against her will, she slowly opened her eyes to face a pair of cruel crimson eyes which were enjoying her pain. _

**XXX**

"Nee-san… nee-san please wake up!" a voice said, gently shaking her, but somehow Ayame couldn't tear herself away from the blood-covered room and the pair of menacing red eyes. 'Why… do I feel… like I have seen those eyes before…?' Ayame asked herself. But before her sub-conscious mind could ponder over it, her eyes flickered open in response to the voice that was trying to wake her up. "Nee-san!" a voice exclaimed. "Sakura…?" Ayame said softly as she tried to get all the blurry images into focus.

When her vision cleared, Ayame saw that she lying down on a soft, comfortable bed, tucked in neatly with a quilt. Right next to the bed, Sakura was kneeling down and holding her hand, her face lined with worry. Syaoran stood behind her looking equally concerned, while Fai hung back a little, his face sporting his usual smile, but Ayame could see relief etched in them. They were in a warm, cozy room with a fire place, the fire in it crackling away merrily.

"Oh… hey guys… what's all the fuss?" Ayame said weakly as she sat up. "Are you alright Ayame-san?" Syaoran asked. "What would be wrong with me huh?" Ayame winked. "I was so worried…!" Sakura exclaimed as she buried her face in Ayame's shoulder crying. "Now, now Sakura… I'm fine" Ayame said softly, patting her head gently.

"I would beg to differ Yousei-chan…" Fai said seriously, his face losing its smile, "You have been asleep ever since we came to this world – that's half a day," "Half a day!? You're joking…" Ayame said, but something in Fai's tone said he was in no mood to joke. Also, Sakura sat down next to her and nodded her head vigorously

"At first we thought you were just tired, so we let you sleep… but you gave us all a scare – you were really cold and kept whimpering; just a while ago you began to shiver, we had no choice but to wake you up" Fai continued. 'Wow… half a day…' Ayame thought to herself. "I'm sorry guys… didn't mean to worry you all so much…" "Sorry ain't gonna cut it princess… what the hell happened to you?" a gruff voice interrupted her.

It was then that Ayame saw Kurogane sitting down a rug a little away from the bed, his eyes boring into her's. Ayame felt her heartbeat pick up pace when she saw his red eyes – the eyes from her dream flashed in her mind. 'But… Kurogane's eyes… they are different… they are kind…' she noticed with a small smile. "I asked you something… it will be rude not to answer princess…" Kurogane said, snapping her out of her musings. "It's nothing to worry about really… I guess I was just really tired… and then there was a bad dream… that's all" Ayame said. 'Except that it wasn't just a normal dream…' intuition told her.

"Well now that you are up… let's get you something sweet and hot to drink shall we?" Fai chirped, his smile back in place, "I'll ask the landlady if I can borrow the kitchen…" "That won't be necessary…" Ayame protested, but Fai already halfway to the door. "I want to help too!" Sakura said, following Fai. "Hey Sakura be careful!" Ayame called out as the young girl disappeared out of the door. "I'll make sure she's fine…" Syaoran said, more to himself than to Ayame and walked out as well.

There was nothing but the sound of the fire for a while as Ayame sat there in the bed, trying to look anywhere but at Kurogane. The last time they had spoken to each other, things weren't left at the most positive note. 'Maybe… I was too harsh on him…' Ayame thought, as she sent a tentative glance towards the ninja. But she knew she had no choice – it wasn't fair that she was getting concern which belonged to someone else; she didn't deserve it, she didn't deserve to be cared for so much. 'I should apologize…' she decided.

"Umm… Kurogane-san… I…" Ayame began, but Kurogane paid no heed as he swiftly got up and walked over to the bed. He then sat down next to her and placed his hand on her forehead, frowning a little. "What are you doing?" "Checking your temperature, what else does it look like," came the reply. Ayame remained silent as Kurogane continued to mutter to himself. "Well you seem back to normal…" Kurogane said after some thought, removing his hand from her forehead.

"Kurogane-san… about before… I'm sorry…" Ayame blurted, twisting her hands in nervousness. She then shut her eyes, waiting for the ninja to lash out at her. But then, Ayame felt a hand placed caringly on her head – she opened her eyes to see Kurogane almost smiling at her. "There's no need to apologize princess," he said, "You made me see something very important, I'm the one who should be thanking you…" "What…?" Ayame asked, surprised at the ninja's calm demeanor, but Kurogane didn't explain any further as he got up and took his previous spot on the floor.

Soon enough, Fai bustled back into the room holding a steaming mug with Sakura and Syaoran right on his heels. "Here you go!" Fai said with dramatic cheerfulness, handing her the cup. As she took a sip, Ayame could feel the warmth spreading through her body. "Thanks!" she said gratefully.

"Do you like it Nee-san? I helped Fai-san make it!" Sakura asked, flopping down on the bed next to her, "I made Syaoran-kun taste too, he said he liked it as well… right?" she added, looking at the brown haired teen. Syaoran blushed all the way till his roots as he mumbled, "Y-yes princess, it tasted really good." Ayame couldn't help but giggle, 'He is so cute'

Fai and the others bought Ayame up to date with whatever happened when she was asleep – they told her about that they were in the country of Jade, where they arrived around noon. They told her about the little diner they entered and also informed her that they were staying in the room right above the diner.

"Wait a minute…" Ayame interrupted Fai's narrative, "How did you get this world's currency?" At this, Fai began laughing sheepishly, "He-he-he-he… there's no need to discuss that now is there…?" Even Syaoran got all flustered; "Maybe asking that won't be a good idea Ayame-san…" he said. The response made Ayame even more suspicious, "What did you do?" she asked, her voice dangerously low. "Well… let's just say we had a few cards… some sporting gentlemen… and… Sakura-chan's luck…" Fai fumbled.

"Sakura's… luck?" Ayame whispered, trembling with anger. Then Ayame completely startled everyone by jumping out of bed in top speed and chasing the mage. "FAI. D. FLOURITE! HOW DARE YOU!" Ayame roared as she jumped over a table, "HOW DARE YOU MAKE MY LITTLE SISTER PLAY POKER! YOU FILTHY BASTARD, I'LL KILL YOU!" "Now-now… there's nothing to be so upset about right?" Fai giggled as he dodged all of Ayame's punches effortlessly.

"I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT BEING UPSET…!" Ayame continued to yell, but all of a sudden, everything around her began to swirl and swim. Just as she was about to hit the floor, a blond headed figure swept her up, bridal style, and gently laid her down in bed. "You can hit me all you want," Fai said, smiling, "But only after you get all your strength back, ok?" Ayame was taken aback by the way he smiled at her – 'It… so… warm and gentle…' she thought as she slipped back into sleep, dreamless this time.

**XXX**

"Oh come on… I can't go around wearing this!"

"But Madame it looks splendid on you!"

"You look really pretty Nee-san!"

The dimensional travelers were at the local tailor's to get appropriate clothes… and Ayame didn't like the clothes at all – the corset made it difficult for her to breathe and she could never get used to wearing a simple skirt, let alone a layered one. "Are you sure Sakura? I look kinda… I dunno… weird…" Ayame said, looking at herself from different angles in the mirror. The dress was light lavender in color, with purple frills. It had small, puff sleeves and a square neckline, showing off her well-defined collar bone; complete with a purple ribbon on her neck.

"Don't you think the sleeves are too short?" Ayame complained, hoping she could get back to her usual clothes, "I'll freeze up" "You won't have to worry about that!" the tailor's wife said enthusiastically as she produced a lavender colored shawl out of nowhere, "This will protect you from the cold" 'I don't have an option now do I?' Ayame sighed as she took the shawl and draped it over herself.

"Nee-san, can I braid your hair?" Sakura asked shyly, "I remember the time when we were kids… I remember that you would always complain that your hair got in the way when you were dueling and I would braid your hair…" The memory flashed in front of Ayame's eyes – _"Nee-chan, stay still! Let me braid up your hair properly!" "I am gonna beat up those punks… just you watch Sakura!" "They won't lift a finger against you Nee-chan, you're too cute!" "No I'm not!" _

Tears formed in Ayame's eyes as the memory played in her head. Unconsciously, she moved forward towards Sakura and hugged her tight. "I'm so happy…" she said, crying into her sister's shoulder. "Don't cry… Nee-chan…" Sakura said softly, hugging her back. 'I will get all your feathers back Sakura…' Ayame thought, 'You will remember everything… not just me and everyone from Clow… but you will remember Syaoran as well… I promise'

**XXX**

"Wah… This feels good!" Fai said, looking around at the leafless trees, "These branches are curving at exactly the right angle" But Ayame wasn't thrilled by the scenery, "It's really cold…" she said, pulling the shawl around her. "And please don't talk right into my ear Fai-san…" she added. "Yousei-chan is not having riding with me!?" Fai said dramatically, "It's like we're a newly-wed couple enjoying out first horse ride!" In response, Ayame clonked him really hard on his head, making Fai cry out "Meanie Yousei-chan!" "Meanie-meanie!" Mokona giggled, poking her head out of Fai's collar.

"So tell me about the golden-haired princess again…" Ayame asked Syaoran, ignoring Fai's ranting. "According to the legend, the golden-haired princess lived in the northern country a long time ago," Syaoran replied, "She got a shiny feather from a bird. It told her that there is strong magic in the feather…" "And the children in the nearby town are going missing again… just like the legend?" Ayame asked, mulling over the story in her head. "Yup!" Fai chirped.

"That's nothing to smile about you creepy mage," Kurogane growled in annoyance. "Kuro-run shouldn't call other people creepy when he himself is so dark and gloomy…" Fai teased. "DON'T CALL ME KURO-RUN!" Kurogane yelled, while Fai and Mokona continued to laugh and giggle. But Ayame could see that the mage's fake smile was plastered on his face again. 'I wish… he smile like the way he smiled at me last night more often…' Ayame thought, as she pulled the shawl even more tightly around her.

"You're really cold, aren't you Yousei-chan?" Fai asked, his tone serious. Ayame just nodded, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. "Here…" Fai said softly, placing his hands on Ayame's shoulders, "This should make you feel better…" Warmth began emanating from Fai's fingers, spreading to her arms first and then all around her body. In a matter of seconds, Ayame felt completely normal, so much that she loosened the shawl she had wrapped around her so tightly.

"Fai… san…" Ayame said in disbelief, looking at Fai for an explanation. 'He used magic just now… but why…?' she thought, but somehow she couldn't find the right words to ask him. Fai just smiled in return – the same smile he gave her the night before – and winked, saying, "Just our little secret, okay?"

"Hey guys, look, a signboard!" Mokona chirped, forcing Ayame to divert her attention. "What does it say…?" Fai asked no one in particular, squinting at the board. 'It sure looks real nice…' Ayame thought, trying figure out the script as well. "Spirit" Syaoran said slowly, peering at the board.

He looked for a few more seconds, then shrugged, saying, "I think that's how you say it. If it's the same pronunciation as what dad taught me" "That's good work Syaoran!" Ayame said, impressed. 'Fujitaka-san taught him well…' she thought as Sakura and Fai congratulated the now thoroughly embarrassed Syaoran.

"Hey… now's not the time to joke around…" Kurogane said, looking around. It was true – they were still a decent distance away from the town, but Ayame saw people running into their houses and slamming their doors and windows shut at the sight of them.

"I feel like we are not welcome here…" Fai said laughing nervously as the group trotted into town. "We ARE not welcome here…" Kurogane said, annoyed. 'Wow… I've never seen a place this hostile...' Ayame thought, looking around for someone so that they could ask what was going on. Soon enough, she spotted a little girl looking at them curiously.

"Fai-san, stop right here please…" Ayame said, startling Fai. She got down and walked towards the girl, who was still looking at her with polite curiosity. "That's a very cute stuffed cat you've got there," Ayame said, pointing at the toy she was carrying. "His name is Kero…" the girl replied shyly, "Do you want to hold him?"

"Why thank you…!" Ayame began, but suddenly the door of the house flew open and a woman, Ayame assumed it was the little girl's mother, grabbed hold of the girl and yelled, "Didn't I tell you not to go out!" Then, giving Ayame a nervous look, she pulled the girl in and slammed the door shut.

"Wow…" was all Ayame could manage. Before anyone could say anything else, the entire group was surrounded by men carrying guns. "Who are you?" a man, who looked like the leader, asked them. "And you woman," said another man, menacingly walking towards Ayame, "What were you doing to that little girl? Were you trying to kidnap her?"

"Kidnap! Don't be ridiculous!" Ayame protested, but the man didn't listen. Instead he charged towards Ayame with a long stick, ready to strike her any moment. Ayame tried to take her battle stance, but the skirt she was wearing didn't allow her to. 'Dammit…' she thought as the man continued to charge.

"AYAME!" Kurogane and Fai yelled out in alarm while Sakura screamed. Then, to Ayame's great surprise, she felt herself being lifted off the ground and carried over to a roof top. Ayame looked up to see that the man who saved her was a tall, lean man with short hair except for the few strands that framed his pale, sharp-featured face. He was dressed in trousers and a white shirt, over which he had worn a tailcoat.

"Is this the way you treat a beautiful young woman? How tasteless" he said, looking down at all the townsmen gathered. Ayame's heart rate shot through sky high when he spoke, 'That voice… it's the same that I heard… in the dream…' she thought. Then he turned to Ayame and asked, "Are you hurt by any chance Madam?" It took all of Ayame's strength not to scream – she recognized his eyes… crimson red… just like the ones which were staring at her cruelly in her dream.

When she didn't reply, he just gave her smile and said, "There's nothing to worry about Ma'am," He then carefully let go of Ayame and after making sure she was comfortable standing on the rooftop, he went down on one knee and looking right into Ayame's eyes, he said, "The name is Sebastian Michaelis and I am at your service."

**XXX**

**A/N: It's been really-really-really long… I'm so sorry! So much came up that I just couldn't complete this chapter. There was college, classes, assignments, Tech-Fest work… I know it's no excuse for not updating… Sorry… I promise to post the next one soon!**

**Now, getting back to the story, the dimensional travelers DID NOT land in the Country of Fog… They will land later though… you guys will have to just wait and watch. Aaaaaaaand…. Yes, the new character is Sebastian Michaelis… yes-yes the one from Black Butler! Any Sebby fans here?**

**Do review guys, they really mean a lot to me… also, what do you guys think of the story so far? Lemme know in the reviews section!**

**Till the next update, Ciao! **


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